Photon-number-resolving segmented detectors based on single-photon avalanche-photodiodes

Abstract

We investigate the feasibility and performance of photon-number-resolved photodetection employing single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) with low dark counts. While the main idea, to split n photons into m detection modes with a vanishing probability of more than one photon per mode, is not new, we investigate here a important variant of this situation where SPADs are side-coupled to the same waveguide rather than terminally coupled to a propagation tree. This prevents the nonideal SPAD quantum efficiency from contributing to photon loss. We propose a concrete SPAD segmented waveguide detector based on a vertical directional coupler design, and characterize its performance by evaluating the purities of Positive-Operator-Valued Measures (POVMs) in terms of number of SPADs, photon loss, dark counts, and electrical cross-talk.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 27, 2020
Source ID
10.1364/oe.380416

Entities

People

  • Andreas Beling
  • Chun-hung Chang
  • Olivier Pfister
  • Qianhuan Yu
  • Rajveer Nehra

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • National Science Foundation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Adaptive Control and Estimation with Uncertainty in Dynamic Systems.
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Quantum Computing