Stochastic resonance as dithering

A direct correspondence is demonstrated between the phenomenon of "stochast ic resonance" in static nonlinear systems and the dithering effect well kno wn in the theory of digital waveform coding. It is argued that many static systems displaying stochastic resonance are forms of dithered quantizers, a nd that the existence or absence of stochastic resonance in such systems ca n be predicted from the effects of "dither averaging'' upon their transfer characteristics. Also, results are introduced regarding stochastic resonanc e in certain nonlinear systems with memory (e.g., hysteretic systems).