ESTIMATION OF THE PHOTON-COUNTING HOLE IN THE AUTOCORRELATION AND TRIPLE CORRELATION OF CLIPPED DATA

Two methods for obtaining the autocorrelation central value from clipp ed photon-counting data are presented. They are based on the statistic al analysis of the total number of counts in one frame. One of the met hods requires a smaller number of frames for good statistical accuracy , whereas the other is applicable over a wider intensity range. A slig ht modification of the latter method permits evaluation of the central value of the triple-correlation function. To our knowledge these are the first techniques that overcome the problem of the autocorrelation and triple-correlation central hole that is due to the clipping in pho ton-counting detection.