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arXiv:0811.1120 · Optics Express

Analysis of the possibility of analog detectors calibration by exploiting stimulated parametric down conversion

G. Brida, Maria V. Chekhova, Marco Genovese, Ivano Ruo Berchera

Published Aug 5, 2008• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) has been largely exploited as a tool for absolute calibration of photon-counting detectors, i.e detectors registering very small photon fluxes. In [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 23, 2185 (2006)] we derived a method for absolute calibration of analog detectors using SPDC emission at higher photon fluxes, where the beam is seen as a continuum by the detector. Nevertheless intrinsic limitations appear when high-gain regime of SPDC is required to reach even larger photon fluxes. Here we show that stimulated parametric down conversion allow one to avoid this limitation, since stimulated photon fluxes are increased by the presence of the seed beam.

DOI
10.1364/oe.16.012550

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Spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) has been largely exploited as a tool for absolute calibration of photon-counting detectors, i.e detectors registering very small photon fluxes. In [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 23, 2185 (2006)] we derived a method for absolute calibration of analog detectors using SPDC emission at higher photon fluxes, where the beam is seen as a continuum by the detector. Nevertheless intrinsic limitations appear when high-gain regime of SPDC is required to reach even larger photon fluxes. Here we show that stimulated parametric down conversion allow one to avoid this limitation, since stimulated photon fluxes are increased by the presence of the seed beam.
Spontaneous parametric down conversion has been largely exploited as a tool for absolute calibration of photon counting detectors, photomultiplier tubes or avalanche photodiodes working in the Geiger regime. In this work we investigate the extension of this technique from very low photon flux of the photon counting regime to the absolute calibration of analog photodetectors at higher photon flux. Moving towards a higher photon rate, i.e. at a high gain regime, the spontaneous parametric down conversion shows the intrinsic limitations of the method, while the stimulated parametric down conversion process, where a seed beam is properly injected into the crystal in order to increase the photon generation rate in the conjugate arm, allows us to work around this problem. A preliminary uncertainty budget is discussed.
Single-photon detectors are of great importance in spectroscopy, laser ranging, astronomy and wherever weak light detection is required, so a precise knowledge of their quantum efficiency is essential, but their calibration is by no means trivial. Traditional methods need a black body radiation source or a highly attenuated laser beam as a reference standard, or an already calibrated reference detector. It is well known that absolute measurement of the quantum efficiency, absolute in the sense that the calibration is independent of any radiometric standard or the properties of another detector, can be performed using entangled twin photons generated in optical spontaneous parametric down-conversion together with a reference detector. We have performed the first proof-of-principle experiment to determine the quantum efficiency by which no second detector or reference standard is required. This absolute self-calibration method is also based on the time correlation of photons emitted in parametric down-conversion, but with the introduction of a suitable time delay between the arrival times of the twin photons. Furthermore, we describe a scheme for absolute self-calibration of the quantum efficiency at different wavelengths by means of a pulsed source of nondegenerate down-converted photons. This method should have even greater potential for applications.
Spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) has been one of the foremost tools in quantum optics for over five decades. Over that time, it has been used to demonstrate some of the curious features that arise from quantum mechanics. Despite the success of SPDC, its higher-order analogs have never been observed, even though it has been suggested that they generate far more unique and exotic states than SPDC. An example of this is the emergence of non-Gaussian states without the need for postselection. Here we calculate the expected rate of emission for nthn\mathrm{th}nth-order SPDC with and without external stimulation (seeding). Focusing primarily on third-order parametric down-conversion, we estimate the photon detection rates in a rutile crystal for both the unseeded and seeded regimes.
A new method of absolute calibration of photodetector sensitivity based on spontaneous parametric down\|conversion(SPDC) biphoton field is described.The process of SPDC is studied theoretically.The single photon detection probability and two\|photon coincidence probability are derived and the calibration principle for photodetectors is explained.An experimental system has been set up.The sensitivity of a photon\|counting photomultiplier tube was measured,and the results were compared with those obtained using conventional method.
Single-photon detectors are of great importance in spectroscopy, laser ranging, astronomy and wherever weak light detection is required, so a precise knowledge of their quantum efficiency is essential, but their calibration is by no means trivial. Traditional methods need a black body radiation source or a highly attenuated laser beam as a reference standard, or an already calibrated reference detector. It is well known that absolute measurement of the quantum efficiency, absolute in the sense that the calibration is independent of any radiometric standard or the properties of another detector, can be performed using entangled twin photons generated in optical spontaneous parametric down-conversion together with a reference detector. We have performed the first proof-of-principle experiment to determine the quantum efficiency by which no second detector or reference standard is required. This absolute self-calibration method is also based on the time correlation of photons emitted in parametric down-conversion, but with the introduction of a suitable time delay between the arrival times of the twin photons. Furthermore, we describe a scheme for absolute self-calibration of the quantum efficiency at different wavelengths by means of a pulsed source of nondegenerate down-converted photons. This method should have even greater potential for applications.