Super-regenerative laser receiver: Transient dynamics of a laser with an external signal

Abstract

In super-regenerative detection, a weak external signal is amplified in an oscillator that is periodically switched on and then quenched. It is shown that very weak optical signals, slightly above the noise level, can be detected effectively by a laser used as a super-regenerative receiver. The detector output for different signal levels and its operating characteristics are determined by numerical integration of stochastic differential equations that represent the growth of laser radiation from a background consisting of signal and noise.