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Journal of Applied Optics

Quantum-efficiency measurement of photodetectors based on entangled photons

Wei Zhang

Published Jan 1, 2007• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The calibration of radiometric sensors is critical to ensure the accuracy of the remote sensing data and their usability.The current methods of the radiometric calibration are based on the establishment of high-precision primary standard and standard transfer chain,and the transfer chain is the main source of errors.The entangled photons-based theory creates a new technical way to realize the radiometric calibration of standardless transfer.The method of absolute calibration of photodetectors based on a nonclassical effect of the nonlinear optics in the photon-counting regime was discussed.The measurement was realized with the technique of entangled photons at 702 nm generated by a parametric down conversion process in a nonlinear crystal of BBO.The photomultiplier quantum-efficiency at the wavelength was measured during the experiment.It is estimated that the deviation is 0.1%.The technique is independent of any externally calibrated radiometric standards.

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The calibration of radiometric sensors is critical to ensure the accuracy of the remote sensing data and their usability.The current methods of the radiometric calibration are based on the establishment of high-precision primary standard and standard transfer chain,and the transfer chain is the main source of errors.The entangled photons-based theory creates a new technical way to realize the radiometric calibration of standardless transfer.The method of absolute calibration of photodetectors based on a nonclassical effect of the nonlinear optics in the photon-counting regime was discussed.The measurement was realized with the technique of entangled photons at 702 nm generated by a parametric down conversion process in a nonlinear crystal of BBO.The photomultiplier quantum-efficiency at the wavelength was measured during the experiment.It is estimated that the deviation is 0.1%.The technique is independent of any externally calibrated radiometric standards.
There are two general methods in radiometric calibration of detectors, one is based on radiation sources and the other based on detectors. Because the two methods need to establish a primary standard of high precision and a transfer chain, precision of the standard will be reduced by extension of the chain. A new calibration method of detectors can be realized by using correlated photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) effect of nonlinear crystal, without needing transfer chain. Using 351.1-nm output of a tunable laser to pump 'beta'-barium borate (BBO) crystal, an absolute calibration experimental system of single photon detectors based on correlated photons is performed. The quantum efficiency of photomultiplier (PMT) at 702.2 nm is measured by the setup. Advantages of this method over traditional methods are also pointed out by comparison.
There are two general methods for radiometric calibration of detectors. One is based on radiometric sources and the other is based on detectors. Because two methods need to establish primary standard of high precision and transfer chain of standard, the precision of standard will be reduced by extension of the chain. An absolute calibration of quantum efficiency of detectors can be realized by using correlated photons generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) effect of nonlinear crystal. Generation mechanism of SPDC is interpreted with theories of quantum mechanics and classical theories. The theory of calibration based correlated photons are demonstrated. The project for proof of principle of absolute calibration of quantum efficiency of radiometric detectors is given in this paper. Comparing with traditional methods, the advantages of it are pointed out. A scheme using to calibrate quantum efficiency of infrared detectors is described here. The measurement of spatial and spectral response of detectors is mentioned too.
Calibration of radiometric detector is the foundation technique to ensure precisions and values of remote sensing data. Current methods for calibration of infrared detectors need to establish transfer chain of standard, the precision of standard will be reduced by extension of the chain. A new absolute calibration method without transfer chain can be realized by using entangled photons. The theory of calibration is demonstrated in this paper. We propose a scheme for calibrating quantum efficiency of infrared detectors, here. The advantages of this method are mentioned.
A new method of absolute calibration of photodetectors based on a nonclassical effect in nonlinear optics is discussed. The combined influence of a monochromatic flux of pump photons and quantum vacuum noise on a nonlinear crystal with no center of symmetry results in the appearance of rigorously correlated pairs of photons with continuous spectral distribution in the spontaneous parametric scattering of light (spontaneous parametric downconversion) process. The presence of an optical field in a broad spectral range created by the two-photon states (biphotons) makes it possible to develop a new method of measuring the spectral distribution of the absolute value of the quantum efficiency of photodetectors, both in photon counting and in analog regimes, that does not use any calibrated standard light sources (étalons). The feasibility of the method is demonstrated on different types of photomultiplier tube.
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.