Singlephoton detector module for telecom wavelengths

1
Single-photon detector module for telecom
wavelengths

• Grégoire Ribordy
• id Quantique
• Geneva, Switzerland

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Overview

• Single-Photon Detection Module Presentation
• Features
• Set-up
• Performance
• Examples of applications
• Discussion of technical limitations
• Conclusion

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id Quantiques SPDM

• Single-Photon Detector Module

InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode
Make single-photon detection at telecom
wavelength simple.
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Gated Operation

• Gate Pulse Width
• 2.5 ns, 5 ns, 20 ns, 50 ns,
• 100 ns
• Deadtime Durations
• None, 1 ms, 2 ms, 5 ms, 10 ms

• Adjustable Delay Dttrig
• 0 25 ns, jitter lt 0.25 ns, step 0.1 ns
• Internal Trigger Rates
• 1 kHz, 10 kHz, 100 kHz, 1 MHz

Trigger signal
Gate pulse
Photon
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Block diagram
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Typical Set-up
External Trigger
Internal Trigger
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Performance (1)

• Detection Efficiency vs Dark Count Probability

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Performance (2)

• Timing Response

Gate width 100 ns Freq 100 kHz
No illumination
FWHM 330 ps
Pulsed laser illumination (Dt 250 ps)
Jitter 215 ps
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Performance (3)

• Spectral response

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Applications Telecom Instrumentation

• Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)
• spatial information TOF (gate delay)
• spatial resolution convolution of laser pulse
  and gate
• reflectivity/loss mean photon number per
  gate

FUT
Laser
Laser pulse(500ps100ns)
Delay generator
id 200 SPDM
Detection trigger, delayed
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OTDR Measurement (1)
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OTDR Measurement (2)

• Technical Limitations
• Afterpulses ? dead time, mathematical corrections
• Blindness outside of gates ? fast optical
  modulator

15 cm
3 m SMF
FC/PC Connectors
Same resolution at any distance
81 km SMF
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Other applications

• Laser Ranging (LIDAR)
• 1550 nm is  eye safe 
• Photoluminescence measurements
• Caracterization of semiconductor
• materials
• Measurement of emission
• by single-molecules

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Quantum Optics
 Long Distance  Quantum Teleportation
Teleportation set-up
I. Marcikic et al., Nature 421, 509-513 (2003)
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Problems

• Counting rate
• Afterpulses ? long dead time
• Out of gate blindness
• Single-mode pigtailing
• Availability of suitable APDs

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Conclusions

• Single-photon detector module available
• ? makes new applications possible
• ? new performance requirements
• Reliable source of APDs is required
• Acknowledgments
• GAP University of Geneva
• Contact info_at_iquantique.com, www.iquantique.com