Threshold characteristics of receivers with optical quantum amplifiers

An equation for the distribution of the number of photoelectrons at the output of a radiation detector of an optical receiver with a preamplifier is derived for the case of a Poisson distribution of the incident photons. An analysis is given of the noise in a glass-fiber preamplifier. A computer calculation is reported of the probability of transmission of a signal for a given probability of spurious operation. This calculation is made for the case of an amplifier generating few modes. The results are given of an experimental investigation of a receiver with a neodymium glass-fiber amplifier. These results support the calculations.