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Journal of Semiconductors

Jitter suppression scheme for detection pulses in high-speed sinusoidal gated single-photon detectors

Lianjun Jiang, Dongdong Li, Dawei Li, Yuqiang Fang, Ming Liu, Wei Jiang, Zhilin Xie, Guoqing Liu, Rui Ma, Yukang Zhao, Jian Sun, Lei Chang, Lin Yu, Shibiao Tang

Published Dec 1, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) achieves information-theoretic security based on quantum mechanics principles, where single-photon detectors (SPDs) serve as critical components. This study focuses on the sinusoidal gated SPDs widely used in high-speed QKD systems. We investigate the mechanisms underlying the rising-edge jitter in detection signals, identifying contributions from factors such as the temporal width of injected optical pulses, avalanche generation processes, avalanche signal extraction, and pulse discrimination. To address the issue of excessive jitter-induced bit errors, we propose a retiming scheme that utilizes coincidence signals synchronized with the sinusoidal gating signal. This approach effectively suppresses detection signal jitter and reduces the after-pulse probability of the detector. Experimental validation using a high-precision time-to-digital converter (TDC) demonstrates a significant reduction in the rising-edge jitter distribution after applying the suppression scheme. The proposed method features clear principles and straightforward engineering implementation, avoiding direct interference with the detector’s operational processes. The designed high-speed sinusoidal gated InGaAs/InP SPD operates at 1.25 GHz, achieving a remarkable reduction in after-pulse probability from 10.7% (without jitter suppression) to 0.72%, thereby enhancing the overall performance of QKD systems.

DOI
10.1088/1674-4926/25030031

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Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) achieves information-theoretic security based on quantum mechanics principles, where single-photon detectors (SPDs) serve as critical components. This study focuses on the sinusoidal gated SPDs widely used in high-speed QKD systems. We investigate the mechanisms underlying the rising-edge jitter in detection signals, identifying contributions from factors such as the temporal width of injected optical pulses, avalanche generation processes, avalanche signal extraction, and pulse discrimination. To address the issue of excessive jitter-induced bit errors, we propose a retiming scheme that utilizes coincidence signals synchronized with the sinusoidal gating signal. This approach effectively suppresses detection signal jitter and reduces the after-pulse probability of the detector. Experimental validation using a high-precision time-to-digital converter (TDC) demonstrates a significant reduction in the rising-edge jitter distribution after applying the suppression scheme. The proposed method features clear principles and straightforward engineering implementation, avoiding direct interference with the detector’s operational processes. The designed high-speed sinusoidal gated InGaAs/InP SPD operates at 1.25 GHz, achieving a remarkable reduction in after-pulse probability from 10.7% (without jitter suppression) to 0.72%, thereby enhancing the overall performance of QKD systems.
Gated single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are practical solutions for quantum key distribution (QKD) applications. However, the gating frequency is limited by time jitter and afterpulse probability when SPADs operate at a frequency higher than 2 GHz. We find that filter distortion and variation of signal amplitude are the dominant mechanisms for time jitter in high-frequency scenarios, and design a specific low-pass filter (LPF) and a zero crossing discriminator to reduce the time jitter effectively. Specifically, the LPF extracts avalanche signals and forms accurate zero crossing points by its impulse response, and the zero crossing discriminator correctly discriminates avalanche signals to achieve low time jitter. When the SPAD is operated at a gating frequency of 2.5 GHz with a detection efficiency of 21%, the time jitter and afterpulse probability are 44 ps and 1.4%, respectively. Our results pave the way to practical QKD systems at higher clock rates.
Because of low power consumption and small footprint, avalanche photodiodes (APD) have been commonly applied to photon detection. Recently, high speed quantum communication has been demonstrated for high bit-rate quantum key distribution. For the high speed quantum communication, photon detectors should operate at GHz-clock frequencies. We propose balanced detection circuits for GHz-clock operation of InGaAs-APD photon detectors. The balanced single photon detector operates with sinusoidal wave gating. The sinusoidal wave appearing in the output is removed by the subtraction from APD signal without sharp band-elimination filters. Omission of the sharp filters removes the constraint on the operating frequency of the single photon detector. We present two designs, one works with two identical APDs, the other with one APD and a low-pass filter. The sinusoidal gating enables to eliminate the gating noise even with the simple configuration of the latter design. We demonstrated the balanced single photon detector operating with 1.020GHz clock at 233 K, 193 K, and 186.5 K. The dark count probability was 4.0 x 10-4 counts/pulse with the quantum efficiency of 10% at 233K, and 1.6 x 10-4 counts/pulse at 186.5 K. These results were obtained with easily available APDs (NR8300FP-C.C, RENESASS) originally developed for optical time-domain reflectmeters.
Because of low power consumption and small footprint, avalanche photodiodes (APD) have been commonly applied to photon detection. Recently, high speed quantum communication has been demonstrated for high bit-rate quantum key distribution. For the high speed quantum communication, photon detectors should operate at GHz-clock frequencies. We propose balanced detection circuits for GHz-clock operation of InGaAs-APD photon detectors. The balanced single photon detector operates with sinusoidal wave gating. The sinusoidal wave appearing in the output is removed by the subtraction from APD signal without sharp band-elimination filters. Omission of the sharp filters removes the constraint on the operating frequency of the single photon detector. We present two designs, one works with two identical APDs, the other with one APD and a low-pass filter. The sinusoidal gating enables to eliminate the gating noise even with the simple configuration of the latter design. We demonstrated the balanced single photon detector operating with 1.020GHz clock at 233 K, 193 K, and 186.5 K. The dark count probability was 4.0 x 10-4 counts/pulse with the quantum efficiency of 10% at 233K, and 1.6 x 10-4 counts/pulse at 186.5 K. These results were obtained with easily available APDs (NR8300FP-C.C, RENESASS) originally developed for optical time-domain reflectmeters.
A single-photon detector (SPD) at 1550 nm is essential for quantum key distribution (QKD) based on optical fiber links. A cooled InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode (APD) is a candidate for the SPD, because it has a high detection efficiency with a low dark count probability. However, the maximum detection speed was very slow (<10 MHz), which is due to the afterpulsing phenomenon. Recently we proposed the sinusoidal gating scheme and demonstrated the high-speed (500-800MHz) single-photon detection with a low afterpulsing probability. In the scheme, the overall afterpulsing probability is somewhat high when the gating frequency is lower than 100MHz. In this paper, we report on the afterpulsing-free (<1%) 80MHz single-photon detection using the sinusoidal gating. The 80MHz mode-locked titanium sapphire laser emits ~90 fs optical pulses at 810 nm. The wavelength of the optical pulses is converted into 1550 nm by the optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The 1550 nm optical pulses (~120 fs) are attenuated to the single-photon level and led to the APD (EPITAXX EPM239BA) cooled to -35 degrees Celsius. The cooled APD was operated with sinusoidal gating.
Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) is recognized as an unconditionally secure method of communication encryption, relying solely on the principles of quantum mechanics. A key performance metric for QKD systems is secure key rate (SKR), which is a critical factor for real-world applications. Herein, we report a practical QKD system, equipped with compact gated InGaAs/InP single-photon detectors (SPDs), that can generate a high SKR of 15.2 Mb/s with a channel loss of 2 dB. This exceptional performance stems from the ultra-low afterpulsing probability of the SPDs, which significantly reduces the bit error rate in the QKD system. The typical quantum bit error rate is 1.3%. The results validate the feasibility of an integrated, practical QKD system and offer a reliable solution for the future development of real-world QKD networks.