LAUSR

Balanced detection, which is becoming increasingly essential for wireless communication and optical fiber communication, has been extensively studied in recent years. However, the relationships between the sensitivity and the other parameters have not yet been comprehensively ascertained. In this work, the relationship between the sensitivity and the local oscillator power Plo, consistency parameter Δα, and beam splitting ratio ε in balanced detection is explored through numerical and communication system simulations. If ε decreases, the sensitivity increases, and the corresponding Plo decreases. With the increase or decrease in Δα, ε corresponding to the minimum sensitivity shifts toward the right or left, respectively. This shift increases with the increase in the absolute value of Δα, and the minimum value of the sensitivity increases. When the absolute values of Δα are equal, their curves are almost symmetrical. As ε approaches 0.5, the tolerable maximum of Plo becomes higher. At any instant, the average value of the quantum efficiency of the two photodiodes is more critical than the maximum quantum efficiency and balance. This work facilitates thorough understanding of the sensitivity of balanced detection, which can be beneficial for future optical communication design.