MAXIMIZING THE INFORMATION-TRANSFER IN A QUANTUM-LIMITED LIGHT-SCATTERING SYSTEM

A quantum-limited light-scattering system is considered. The spatial configuration that maximizes a given figure of merit is investigated, assuming that the emitted light has Poisson photon statistics. A specific system for measuring the velocity of a small particle is considered as an example. An optimum spatial code is found for the case of dominating intrinsic signal noise. The robustness of this solution is discussed in relation to the dominating case of background noise. © 1990 Optical Society of America.