Abstract
The contributions to the noise equivalent power (NEP) from various noisesources have been analyzed for the oxygen‐fired CdF2 : Er3+ infrared quantum counter (IRQC) proposed recently as a detector for 1.5‐μm radiation. The noise from photomultiplierdark current and from thermal, Raman, or two‐photon excitations are estimated to produce comparable contributions to the NEP, approximately 10−13 W Hz−1/2, which is superior to that of conventional uncooled 1.5‐μm detectors. The IRQC is expected to be background noise limited at 385 K. Methods to improve the performance of the IRQC are discussed.

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