Comparing measurements of g„2...„0... performed with different coincidence detection techniques

I present measurements of the degree of second-order coherence g 2 0 for spontaneous parametric downconversion fields and discuss the differences between two-detector (unconditional) and three-detector (conditional) measurements of g 2 0 . An emphasis is placed on comparing measurements made using time-to-amplitude converters (TACs) to those made using a logic circuit, illustrating how the TAC measurements are adversely influenced by dead time effects. Finally, I show how the detrimental effects of dead time when using TACs can be mitigated by renormalizing the measurement results. © 2007 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 270.5290, 030.5290, 030.5260.