An optically preamplified intersatellite PPM receiver employing maximum likelihood detection

An original analysis, facilitated by the use of Gaussian approximation (GA) and Chernoff bound (CB) techniques, is presented for an optically preamplified intersatellite pulse position modulation (PPM) receiver employing maximum likelihood detection (MLD). The theoretical results, from calculations performed at a wavelength of 1.54 μm and bit rate of 25 Mb/s demonstrate that the receiver is approximately 1.5 dB more sensitive than an earlier optically preamplified PPM receiver and also more sensitive than the fundamental limit of optically preamplified on-off keyed (OOK) NRZ signalling. Thus, it is demonstrated that the proposed receiver configuration is a strong contender for implementation in future laser intersatellite communication systems.