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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Single photon source characterization with a superconducting single photon detector

Robert H. Hadfield, Martin J. Stevens, Steven S. Gruber, Aaron Miller, Robert E. Schwall, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam

Published Jan 1, 2006• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present the first use of a superconducting single photon detector in characterizing a single photon source. This detector offers excellent timing resolution (65 ps FWHM jitter) and operation into the infrared (1550 nm).
DOI
10.1109/cleo.2006.4628701

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We report use of a niobium nitride superconducting single-photon detector in a time-correlated single-photon counting experiment. The detector has a timing jitter of 68 ± 3 ps full width at half maximum with a Gaussian temporal profile. The detector's dark count rate and detection efficiency can be tuned by adjusting the bias current applied to the device. Typical values include a detection efficiency of ~1-2% and a dark count rate below 100 Hz. We use this detector to measure time-resolved photoluminescence at wavelengths up to 1650 nm, well beyond the range of conventional silicon detectors. We also use this superconducting detector to measure the emission of a quantum dot single-photon source.