Physical Review Applied

Generalized Decoy-State Scheme for Rigorous Characterization of Single-Photon Detectors

Haibo Wang, Gong Zhang, Jishen Zhang, Chao Wang, Haiwen Xu, Yan Liang, Charles Ci Wen Lim, Xiao Gong

Published Sep 21, 2023• 0 citations

Abstract

Accurate characterization of the single-photon detection efficiency (SPDE) of single-photon detectors (SPDs) is an essential but nontrivial task for various applications. Conventional methods require detailed detector models to calculate the estimated SPDE, which are not always available. To overcome this limitation, we propose a generalized method based on decoy state for accurate characterization of SPDE with experimental demonstration and verification in this work. The decoy-state scheme uses only three weak laser intensities to probe the response of an SPD and calculate rigorous bounds on the background noise and SPDE without prior knowledge of the detector model. To show the versatility, the decoy-state scheme is applied to the single-photon avalanche diode and the homodyne detector. The effects of time-dependent noise and multiphoton response to our scheme are analyzed. The experimental results show that the effects of time-dependent noise can be eliminated, and an accuracy bound of efficiency can be achieved with a bound range of 2.6%. The relaxed assumptions on the detector model, straightforward measurement process, rigorous calculation, and high accuracy, could open possibilities for our generalized toolbox as a device calibration standard, fundamental physics research, quantum information, lidar, and biomedical applications.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevapplied.20.034049

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