SPAD electronics for high-speed quantum communications

Joshua C. Bienfang; Alessandro Restelli; Alan Migdall

doi:10.1117/12.875564

24 January 2011 SPAD electronics for high-speed quantum communications

Joshua C. Bienfang, Alessandro Restelli, Alan Migdall

Proceedings Volume 7945, Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices VIII; 79452N (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875564
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We discuss high-speed electronics that support the use of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) in gigahertz singlephoton communications systems. For InGaAs/InP SPADs, recent work has demonstrated reduced afterpulsing and count rates approaching 500 MHz can be achieved with gigahertz periodic-gating techniques designed to minimize the total avalanche charge to less than 100 fC. We investigate afterpulsing in this regime and establish a connection to observations using more conventional techniques. For Si SPADs, we report the benefits of improved timing electronics that enhance the temporal resolution of Si SPADs used in a free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) system operating in the GHz regime. We establish that the effects of count-rate fluctuations induced by daytime turbulent scintillation are significantly reduced, benefitting the performance of the QKD system.

Citation Download Citation

Joshua C. Bienfang, Alessandro Restelli, and Alan Migdall "SPAD electronics for high-speed quantum communications", Proc. SPIE 7945, Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices VIII, 79452N (24 January 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875564

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