Analysis of a InGaAs/InP single photon detector at 1550 nm

Abstract

A new type of single-photon detector is introduced and its related properties characterized. The single-photon detector operating in the Geiger mode uses a new type of cooling system to moderate temperature, which can make the temperature drop to −65 °C. Besides, the single-photon detector adopts a hold-off time modulation feedback control circuit to decrease the afterpulsing effects and the gate pulse is coupled to the avalanche diode through capacitance. In addition, a suitable delay and comparator with latch function circuit are used to detect avalanche signals. Experimental conditions are that the clock frequency is 10 MHz, refrigeration temperature is −65 °C, and the width of control pulse is 5 ns. The experimental results indicate that quantum efficiency is about 20.42% and the dark count rate is about 5 × 10⁻⁶ ns⁻¹ with signal-to-noise ratio 27 dB at the optimum operation point of this detector. The designed single-photon detector achieves a tradeoff between lower dark count rates and high quantum efficiency.

Keywords:

• single photon detector
• Geiger mode
• dark count rate
• quantum efficiency

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by The National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2010CB923200), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, Fund of State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, P.R. China), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51102019, 61177085, 60937003, 51172030, 51172208, 51272031).