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Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering

A low-noise, high-gain, and large-dynamic-range photodetector based on a JFET and a charge amplifier

Jinrong Wang, Shuange Wu, Chengdong Mi, Yaner Qiu, Xin’ai Bai

Published Dec 27, 2023• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate a low-noise, high-gain, and large-dynamic-range photodetector (PD) based on a junction field-effect transistor (JFET) and a charge amplifier for the measurement of quantum noise in Bell-state detection (BSD). Particular photodiode junction capacitance allows the silicon N-channel JFET 2sk152 to be matched to the noise requirement for charge amplifier A250. The electronic noise of the PD is effectively suppressed and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is up to 15 dB at the analysis frequency of 2.75 MHz for a coherent laser power of 50.08 µW. By combining of the inductor and capacitance, the alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) branches of the PD can operate linearly in a dynamic range from 25.06 µW to 17.50 mW. The PD can completely meet the requirements of SNR and dynamic range for BSD in quantum optics experiments.

DOI
10.1631/fitee.2300340

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We demonstrate a low-noise, high-gain, and large-dynamic-range photodetector (PD) based on a junction field-effect transistor (JFET) and a charge amplifier for the measurement of quantum noise in Bell-state detection (BSD). Particular photodiode junction capacitance allows the silicon N-channel JFET 2sk152 to be matched to the noise requirement for charge amplifier A250. The electronic noise of the PD is effectively suppressed and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is up to 15 dB at the analysis frequency of 2.75 MHz for a coherent laser power of 50.08 µW. By combining of the inductor and capacitance, the alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) branches of the PD can operate linearly in a dynamic range from 25.06 µW to 17.50 mW. The PD can completely meet the requirements of SNR and dynamic range for BSD in quantum optics experiments.
We design a low-noise, large-dynamic-range amplifier based on transimpedance amplifier (TIA) for detecting shot noise of 1064-nm laser in quantum optical experiments. Compared with a single-junction field-effect transistor (JFET) buffered TIA, the electronic noise is effectively 2.8 dB suppressed at the analysis of 2 MHz, and 4 dB suppressed at 4 MHz by means of a JFET bootstrap structure. Under the transimpedance gain of 200 kΩ and 0.5 pF, the measured shot noise at the injected laser power of 51 μW is 12.5 dB above the electronic noise at 2 MHz, and 9.8 dB at 4 MHz. With adjustment of bias condition of the bootstrap structure and application of a L-C (inductance and capacitance) structure, the dynamic range is largely boosted from the original 1.52 to 11.22 mW. The amplifier meets the requirement of SNR for Bell-state detection in quantum optical experiments.
A well-balanced detector with high sensitivity and low noise is presented in this paper. The two-stage amplification structure is used to increase electronic gain while keeping an effective bandwidth of about 70 MHz. In order to further reduce electronic noise, a junction field-effect transistor(JFET) is connected between photodiodes and transimpedance amplifier to reduce the impact of amplifier leakage current. Benefit from these designs, the root-mean-square(RMS) of noise voltage is about 6 mV with a gain of 3.2E5 V/W, and it means an ultra-low noise equivalent power density of 2.2E-12 W/rtHz, only half of common low-noise commercial detectors. In addition, two photodiodes in similar frequency response are selected for detector and make the common mode rejection ratio(CMRR) of detector reached 53 dB, about 13 dB higher than commercial detectors. Further tests indicate that 16.8 dB shot-noise to electronic-noise ratio is measured in our detector, which is better than most high speed balanced detectors.
We report a low-noise, high-signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) balanced homodyne detector based on the standard transimpedance amplifier circuit and the inductance and capacitance combination for the measurement of the bright squeezed state in the range from 1 kHz to 100 kHz. A capacitance is mounted at the input end of the AC branch to prevent the DC photocurrent from entering the AC branch and avoid AC branch saturation. By adding a switch at the DC branch, the DC branch can be flexibly turned on and off on different occasions. When the switch is on, the DC output provides a monitor signal for laser beam alignment. When the switch is off, the electronic noise of the AC branch is greatly reduced at audio-frequency band due to immunity to the impedance of the DC branch, hence the SNR of the AC branch is significantly improved. As a result, the electronic noise of the AC branch is close to −125 dBm, and the maximum SNR of the AC branch is 48 dB with the incident power of 8 mW in the range from 1 kHz to 100 kHz. The developed photodetector paves a path for measuring the bright squeezed state at audio-frequency band.
The rapid development of coherent short-wavelength light sources in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) regimes has created a growing need for advanced optoelectronic detection capabilities, particularly for quantum-noise-limited measurements, microelectronics and semiconductor metrology, and emerging quantum information applications. However, extending balanced photodetection to these wavelength regimes is severely hindered by a fundamental bandwidth-noise trade-off imposed by the exceptionally large junction capacitance of EUV-SXR silicon photodiodes. Here, we report a novel wideband photoreceiver architecture that overcomes this bottleneck via a bootstrapped transimpedance amplifier design. By leveraging a low-noise junction field-effect transistor interface, we effectively isolate the photodiode capacitance and suppress the apparent input capacitance seen by the core amplifier. Combined with active compensation of parasitic feedback reactance, this architecture mitigates the conventional trade-off between detector active area and signal bandwidth. Experimentally, we achieved a system-level input-referred noise floor of 13 fA/HzfA/\sqrt{Hz}fA/Hz​, closely approaching theoretical thermal limits. Furthermore, we achieved a six-fold extension in signal-to-noise limited bandwidth and, through the implementation of a novel grounded field plate, demonstrated a common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) exceeding 30 dB up to 100 kHz. This highly scalable, silicon-based architecture effectively bridges the short-wavelength detection gap, establishing a robust experimental platform for next-generation quantum-noise-limited and quantum-enhanced X-ray measurement, as well as ultra-sensitive inspection and metrology applications in high-numerical-aperture EUV lithography.
High-precision cavity locking is crucial for squeezing optical fields. Here, a bootstrapped low-noise photodetector is utilized in the generation process of the squeezed state of light. This process is based on a combination of a modified trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) circuit and a two-stage bootstrap amplifier circuit. This not only achieves high-precision and long-term stable locking of the optical cavity, but it also improves the degree to which the light field is squeezed. The experiment results show that the detector has a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 26.7 dB at the analysis frequency of 3 MHz when measuring the shot noise with an injection optical power of 800 µW, and the equivalent optical power noise level is lower than 2.4 pW/Hz in the frequency range of 1-30 MHz. Moreover, the squeezing degree of the quadrature amplitude squeezed state light field can be improved by more than 34.9% when the detector is used for optical cavity locking. The photodetector is useful in continuous variable (CV) quantum information research.
We report a low-noise compensated tuned amplifier (cTAMP) architecture optimized for large-area photodiodes in stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) detection. By integrating a tunable RLC feedback network with a matching compensation inductor, the design simultaneously achieves resonance enhancement and amplifier stability despite the high junction capacitance of a 10 × 10 mm 2 photodiode. As a proof of concept, a detector configured for 20 MHz center frequency and 1 MHz bandwidth exhibits an output-referred noise floor of 31 nV / Hz , enabling shot-noise-limited linear operation from 0.1 mW up to 36 mW optical power under ∼50 μs time constant in the near-IR region. This wide dynamic range and low noise performance allow faithful characterization of high-power squeezed states that saturate conventional detectors, as verified in photon-number squeezing experiments. In addition, the detector facilitates biocompatible ultrafast SRS microscopy with milliwatt-level excitation, supporting hyperspectral live cell imaging without compromising sensitivity. These results establish the cTAMP-based detector as a versatile platform for high-sensitivity quantum optics and biomedical imaging, with potential for extension to other modulation-based optical measurements.