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Detection efficiency characterization for free-space single-photon detectors

Alice Meda, Salvatore Virzì, G. Brida, Elisa Redolfi, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Marco Gramegna, Marco Genovese

Published Jan 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce an experimental setup for measuring the detection efficiency of free-space single-photon detectors with excellent reproducibility and minimized uncertainty . Our analysis extends to account for the wavelength-dependent effects caused by the transmissivity of the optical window in front of the detector’s active area. The proposed approach involves measuring the detector’s response at different wavelengths and comparing it with a calibrated reference detector, enabling precise quantification of efficiency variations due to the optical window. The results provide a detailed understanding of wavelength-dependent efficiency, which is essential for optimizing the performance of single-photon detectors in applications such as quantum communication and photonics research. This characterization technique represents a significant step forward in enhancing the accuracy and reliability of single-photon detection efficiency measurements.

DOI
10.59161/ifly9065

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We introduce an experimental setup for measuring the detection efficiency of free-space single-photon detectors with excellent reproducibility and minimized uncertainty . Our analysis extends to account for the wavelength-dependent effects caused by the transmissivity of the optical window in front of the detector’s active area. The proposed approach involves measuring the detector’s response at different wavelengths and comparing it with a calibrated reference detector, enabling precise quantification of efficiency variations due to the optical window. The results provide a detailed understanding of wavelength-dependent efficiency, which is essential for optimizing the performance of single-photon detectors in applications such as quantum communication and photonics research. This characterization technique represents a significant step forward in enhancing the accuracy and reliability of single-photon detection efficiency measurements.
In this paper, we present an experimental apparatus for the measurement of the detection efficiency of free-space single-photon detectors based on the substitution method. We extend the analysis to account for the wavelength dependence introduced by the transmissivity of the optical window in front of the detector's active area. Our method involves measuring the detector's response at different wavelengths and comparing it to a calibrated reference detector. This allows us to accurately quantify the efficiency variations due to the optical window's transmissivity. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the wavelength-dependent efficiency, which is crucial for optimizing the performance of single-photon detectors in various applications, including quantum communication and photonics research. This characterization technique offers a significant advancement in the precision and reliability of single-photon detection efficiency measurements.
Abstract We measure the detection efficiency of single-photon detectors at wavelengths near 851 nm and 1533.6 nm. We investigate the spatial uniformity of one free-space-coupled single-photon avalanche diode and present a comparison between fusion-spliced and connectorized fiber-coupled single-photon detectors. We find that our expanded relative uncertainty for a single measurement of the detection efficiency is as low as 0.70% for fiber-coupled measurements at 1533.6 nm and as high as 1.78% for our free-space characterization at 851.7 nm. The detection-efficiency determination includes corrections for afterpulsing, dark count, and count-rate effects of the single-photon detector with the detection efficiency interpolated to operation at a specified detected count rate.
We present our measurements of the detection efficiency of free-space and fiber-coupled single-photon detectors at wavelengths near 851 nm and 1533.6 nm. We investigate the spatial uniformity of one free-space-coupled silicon single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) and present a comparison between fusion-spliced and connectorized fiber-coupled single-photon detectors. We find that our expanded relative uncertainty for a single measurement of the detection efficiency is as low as 0.7 % for fiber-coupled measurements at 1533.6 nm and as high as 1.8 % for our free-space characterization at 851.8 nm.
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.
Detection efficiency calibration based on correlated photons is a high precision calibration method at the single photon level. During the calibration process, measured time, photon count rate, and channel detection efficiency are important experimental parameters that affect the measured uncertainty of detection efficiency. This paper constructs simulation models of measured uncertainty with experimental parameters by the correlated photons method. Our experiment measures and predicts the uncertainty when parameters change. This research provides a quantitative basis for experimental parameter settings of calibration of single photon detectors using correlated photons technology.
Single-photon detectors are a pivotal component in photonic quantum technologies. A precise and comprehensive calibration of the inherent detection efficiency is of utmost importance to ensure the proper evaluation of the performance in view of the specific technological application of interest, such as the protection against security breaches in quantum cryptographic solutions. Here we report on a systematic study and comprehensive analysis of the estimation of the inherent detection efficiency of two commercial single-photon detectors based on single-photon avalanche diodes for various mean photon numbers and at high laser pulse repetition rates using different techniques. We observe an unexpected and significant drop in the inherent detection efficiency at detection rates of 10% and higher relative to the maximum detection rate. It is demonstrated that for data analysis a statistical model for the detection rate conveniently can be used if no time-stamped data are available. We conclude that the full characterization of single-photon detectors used in critical applications should include the sensitivity of their inherent detection efficiency to high event rates.