Hybrid receivers that enable switching between direct and coherent detection provide many imaging functions beneficial to scientific and defense applications. A hybrid receiver system is presented wherein a single detector is switched between the Geiger-mode and linear amplification modes of operation. This system benefits from enhanced functionality and lower size, weight, power, cost, and complexity compared with dual receiver implementations. The hybrid receiver sensing modality is reconfigurable on-the-fly between single photon direct detection and amplitude/phase coherent detection. The reconfiguration is achieved by adjusting detector bias (electrically) and by simultaneously enabling or disabling the local oscillator (optically). This work describes these two sensing scenarios, discusses the operation of the receiver system and shows laboratory-scale imaging results for each mode of hybrid receiver operation.

Date Published: 13 May 2015
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 9492, Advanced Photon Counting Techniques IX, 94920L (13 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2177480

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9492:
Advanced Photon Counting Techniques IX
Mark A. Itzler; Joe C. Campbell, Editor(s)