Efficient photon number detection with silicon avalanche photodiodes

Oliver Thomas; Zhiliang L. Yuan; James F. Dynes; Andrew W. Sharpe; Andrew J. Shields

doi:10.1117/12.875116

12 February 2011 Efficient photon number detection with silicon avalanche photodiodes

Oliver Thomas, Zhiliang L. Yuan, James F. Dynes, Andrew W. Sharpe, Andrew J. Shields

Proceedings Volume 7948, Advances in Photonics of Quantum Computing, Memory, and Communication IV; 79480M (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875116
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We demonstrate an efficient photon number detector for visible wavelengths using a fast-gated silicon avalanche photodiode. Using sub-nanosecond voltage gates with a self-differencing circuit, the device is able to resolve up to four photons in an incident optical pulse, with a detection probability of up to 91.1 % at 1 GHz. With this performance and close to room temperature operation, fast-gated silicon avalanche photodiodes are ideal for optical quantum information processing that requires single-shot photon number detection.

Citation Download Citation

Oliver Thomas, Zhiliang L. Yuan, James F. Dynes, Andrew W. Sharpe, and Andrew J. Shields "Efficient photon number detection with silicon avalanche photodiodes", Proc. SPIE 7948, Advances in Photonics of Quantum Computing, Memory, and Communication IV, 79480M (12 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875116

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