[time-nuts] laser as clock source

[jimlux]

On 5/5/16 3:16 AM, Poul-Henning Kamp wrote:
> --------
> In message <11200676-5915-28f2-d6f6-c69b11fd9baf at iliaplatone.com>, Ilia Platone
>  writes:
>
>> Is it possible to use the photon flux of a laser as clock source using a
>> sensor in photon-counting mode?
>
> As far as I know:  Photon-counters only work at low rate of photons
> and lasers only work at high rate of photons.
>
>

Well, in deep space optical comm, we send many photons with a laser, and 
we use pulse position modulation at the receiver detecting single 
photons (or "few photons"), by which we can send "many bits/photon" 
(e.g. if you have 256 possible time slots in which the photon can 
arrive, you have 8 bits/photon)