Operating conventional electronic devices in the non-instantaneous multiplication (amplification) regime.

One requirement for operating a device in the non-instantaneous multiplication mode is that its response to an incident photon is the generation of a pulse of constant current. This current is allowed to have a fluctuating duration and can exhibit full shot noise. It is shown that a majority of conventional current- to-current and voltage-to-current converting devices should be operable in the noninstantaneous mode. Ideal photoconductive detectors (current-to-current converters) operated in the conventional (temporally deterministic) mode are a factor of 2 below the ideal limit on the signal to noise ratio set by the shot noise of the input light signal.