Adaptive Focal-Plane Detector Arrays for Optical Communications

Arrays of photon-counting detectors and associated digital signal processors have been proposed for receivers in optical communication systems in which the optical signals propagate through the atmosphere and are relatively weak upon reception. The digital signal processor would execute algorithms that adapt the overall responses of the receivers to the temporally varying photon counts of the individual detectors in such a manner as to reduce the deleterious effect of atmospheric turbulence.