Abstract
This article is designed to open up the field of optical modulation and reception on an introductory level by discussing a selection of optical modulation techniques currently viewed as being most promising. Further, high‐performance optical receiver structures and their noise properties are outlined, both for the fiber channel and for the free‐space channel. Basic receiver design rules as well as important performance trade‐offs are extracted. Frequently used concepts for quantifying receiver performance, such as receiver sensitivity, quantum limit, Q‐factor, and optical signal‐to‐noise ratio (OSNR) are explained.