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IEEE-NPSS Real-Time Conference

Data acquisition system for fast multichannel coincidence photon counting

Hossein Kavianipour, C. Böhm, Mohamed Bourennane

Published May 1, 2014• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper we present the data acquisition (DAQ) system for a multichannel coincidence photon counter where this DAQ is optimized for a small coincidence window, high speed data retrieving without reduction and parallel data processing. For single photon detection we use Avalanche Photodiodes (APD) which are practical tools for detection in quantum optics and photonics quantum information experiments. However they introduce noise into the measurements originating from their dark count detection and after pulsing. One way to limit this contribution is to decrease the time window in which the coincidence detection measurement is performed. We have developed this DAQ based entirely on a standard Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) where the width of the coincidence time window is in the sub-nanosecond range. The same unit is also responsible for sending the result to the User Interface (UI). The communication between the UI and the FPGA platform is through a single link Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) by means of streaming DMA. Our DAQ is developed for Xilinx Spartan-6 devices but other devices are also supported. A Linux driver with all necessary functionality to communicate with the DAQ as well as the UI is also developed. The use of our unit can be extended for other detection counting physical systems.

DOI
10.1109/rtc.2014.7097513

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In this paper we present the data acquisition (DAQ) system for a multichannel coincidence photon counter where this DAQ is optimized for a small coincidence window, high speed data retrieving without reduction and parallel data processing. For single photon detection we use Avalanche Photodiodes (APD) which are practical tools for detection in quantum optics and photonics quantum information experiments. However they introduce noise into the measurements originating from their dark count detection and after pulsing. One way to limit this contribution is to decrease the time window in which the coincidence detection measurement is performed. We have developed this DAQ based entirely on a standard Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) where the width of the coincidence time window is in the sub-nanosecond range. The same unit is also responsible for sending the result to the User Interface (UI). The communication between the UI and the FPGA platform is through a single link Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) by means of streaming DMA. Our DAQ is developed for Xilinx Spartan-6 devices but other devices are also supported. A Linux driver with all necessary functionality to communicate with the DAQ as well as the UI is also developed. The use of our unit can be extended for other detection counting physical systems.
Coincidence counting is widely used in quantum optics.It could be used in measuring the pairs of polarization entangled photons and single photon interference.In quantum experiments,coincidence counting often needs more than 3 channels.In this case,it is necessary to use FPGA(Field-Programmable Gate Array) instead of discrete logic chips.FPGA also has the advantage of low cost and small size.Coincidence counter based on FPGA could support coincidence time window from 1 ns to several hundred ns.This helps to avoid noised caused by background light.This paper introduces the principle of multi-channel coincidence counter based on FPGA and gives its performance experimentally with two single photon counting modules.
State-of-the-art technology for pulse counter electronics offers an important range of commercial devices, but such systems are usually expensive due to the complex logic used for this task. The use of counting electronics in conjunction with photon counters can be used, for example, to perform experimental tests in Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Science. Here, we present the development and implementation of a low cost module for multiphoton coincidence statistics with detection windows of a few nanoseconds. The module consists of an array of logic gates, with a frequency operation of 250 MHz that corrects and amplifies the detectors signal. The device characterisation was done by means of detection of Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL) signals retrieved from a signal generator, and implemented in an optical setup. The detected output signals (TTL pulses) were analysed and stored in a computer by means of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Our module incorporates fundamental electronics that is currently used in the first experimental proof-of-principle tests in quantum information and molecular spectroscopy at CIBioFi.
We present a fast and compact multichannel coincidence unit to count all possible single and coincidence detection events in an experiment with eight single-photon detectors at once. Using high-speed electronics and a microcontroller, this device is able to process up to 800000events∕s. The coincidence window can be tuned within a range of 4–12ns. The device can be easily scaled to any number of input channels and is thus ideally suited for efficient multiphoton quantum information processing.
We report on an electronic coincidence detection circuit for quantum photonic applications implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), which records each the time separation between detection events coming from single-photon detectors. We achieve a coincidence window as narrow as 500 ps with a series of optimizations on a readily-available and affordable FPGA development board. Our implementation allows real-time visualization of coincidence measurements for multiple coincidence window widths simultaneously. To demonstrate the advantage of our high-resolution visualization, we certified the generation of polarized entangled photons by collecting data from multiple coincidence windows with minimal accidental counts, obtaining a violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality by more than 338 standard deviations. Our results have shown the applicability of our electronic design in the field of quantum information.
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The detection of temporally coincident signals plays an important role in different technological applications for metrology and communication, and particularly, in the area of quantum optics. In this sense, the simultaneous detection of two or more photons allows one to take advantage of the non-classical features of light that manifest themselves in certain types of correlations that cannot be described classically. We present here the development of programmable modules, by using FPGA technology, which are part of the coincident pulse detection and counting system. Our implementation, in a development board from Xilinx, allows to determine when two or more pulses overlap within a temporal window, with a configurable width in the range of 1 and 255 ns to compensate for possible path differences. We obtained the photodetection statistics result of the single and coincident pulse measurements and compared them with that predicted by a theoretical analysis. In addition, we have emulated the signals corresponding to different photon sources through a beam splitter, and obtained the photodetection statistics from which we determine, for each case, the second order correlation function g(2)(τ).