White Light Heterodyne Interferometry SNR.

摘要

White light heterodyne interferometry is a powerful technique for obtaining high-angular resolution information of astronomical objects, and avoids some of the technical challenges of direct detection interferometry. However, it suffers a significant SNR penalty. This report derives the SNR equations for heterodyne interferometry and compares its performance to a direct detection interferometer in the visible through LWIR wavelength range. Relative performance for imaging deep space, solar-illuminated objects is discussed.