Error probability in digital fiber optic communication systems

In a digital fiber optic transmission system, during photodetection process, a shot noise is produced that is neither stationary nor independent of the digital message. The evaluation of the average error probability in the presence of such a message-dependent shot noise, of additive Gaussian noise, and of intersymbol interference is considered. Two methods of calculation are outlined: an exhaustive method and a Gram-Charlier series expansion method. The latter is preferred when the number of interferers is moderately large. Some numerical examples for binary independent-symbol transmission are presented.