Pulse normalisation in optical receiver shot-noise performance

The authors study the equivalence between two common normalisations used in the derivation of shot-noise in optical digital receivers. The role played by the bit rate in both approaches is discussed. They conclude that both approaches are formally equivalent, but one is conceptually preferable. Furthermore, no absolute result can be given on the influence of bit rate on the receiver shot-noise performance. Any result is necessarily relative to the normalisation used