20-ps timing resolution with single-photon avalanche diodes

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inCustom single-photon avalanche diode with integrated front-end for parallel photon timing applications Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 033104 (2012); 10.1063/1.3692737Actively quenched singlephoton avalanche diode for high repetition rate timegated photon counting Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 55 (1996); 10.1063/1.1146551Photoluminescence lifetime microscope spectrometer based on timecorrelated singlephoton counting with an avalanche diode detector Rev.Performance comparison of a singlephoton avalanche diode with a microchannelplate photomultiplier in time correlated singlephoton counting Rev. Sci. Instrum.Single photon avalanche diodes (SP ADs) are avalanche photodiodes specifically designed for reverse bias operation above the breakdown voltage and used for detecting single optical photons. A new silicon epitaxial device structure was designed to give improved timing performance with respect to previous SP ADs. Extensive tests were carried out in order to establish the timing resolution of the device in time correlated photon counting (TCPC). The timing resolution of the SPAD in terms of its full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) contribution to the overall instrumental response width is 20 ps with the detector cooled to -65 ·C, and 28 ps at room temperature. This is the highest resolution so far reported for solid-state single-photon detectors. In vacuum tubes, comparable results are obtained only with special microchannel-plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMT). Results from time-resolved photoluminescence measurements in Ga.t\.s demonstrate the power of the TCPC technique when used with the new SPAD detector. With the excellent timing resolution of the SPAD and the well-known advantages ofTCPC systems (high sensitivity, linearity, etc. ), various applications are foreseen in areas so far dominated by streak cameras.

Principles and features of single-photon avalanche diode arrays

“…SPAD detectors so far reported can be divided in two groups, according to the depletion layer of the p-n junction, which can be thin, typically 1 m [11,12], or thick, from 20 m to 150 m [7][8][9][13][14][15]. The main features of thin-junction SPADs are: breakdown voltage V B of 20-50 V; small active area, with diameter from 20 m to 100 m; fairly good quantum efficiency in the visible range, about 45% at 500 nm and declines to 32% at 630 nm and to 15% at 730 nm, and is still useful in the NIR, being about 10% at 830 nm and a few 0.1% at 1064 nm.…”

Ranging and Three-Dimensional Imaging Using Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting and Point-by-Point Acquisition

“…This laser emitted pulses at the 850-nm wavelength of between 10-and 20-ps duration and of pulse energy 7-10 pJ. The clean temporal pulse shape of these lasers complemented the use of the activelyquenched shallow junction Si SPAD detectors [10]- [12]. Such detectors are capable of 20-ps resolution timing at count rates in excess of 10 6 per second.…”

Compact entanglement distillery using realistic quantum memories

“…Here it was found that a wide range of beam splitting ratios can be readily achieved, so that the constraints derived above can be readily satisfied. Concerning the detectors required for this protocol, we note that fast photodetectors with timing jitter on the order of tens of picoseconds are now a well established technology [45]. In the current protocol, repeated detections are not required (each detector only needs to fire once to implement photon subtraction, for instance) so detector dead-time plays no role in limiting the clock speed for the protocol.…”