Improved implementation and modeling of deadtime reduction in an actively multiplexed detection system

Abstract

We have presented a scheme to allow photon counting at higher rates than is otherwise possible with existing photon-counting detectors and detection systems. This is done by multiplexing a pool of detectors in a way that greatly suppresses the effect of the deadtimes of the individual detectors. In our previous work we demonstrated the advantage of this approach over simply trying to improve the deadtime of an individual detector or using the type of passively switched system that can be implemented with group of detectors and a tree of beamsplitters. Here, we present an extension of the theoretical modeling of our actively multiplexed scheme to include effects that arise solely from the use of detectors that require gating. We see that such detectors exhibit a deadtime associated with their gate circuitry, independent of whether the detector fires or not, that should be treated separately from the deadtime due to an actual photodetection. In addition, we present experimental results made with an improved switch control system and shorter gate deadtime demonstrating an approximate twofold effective deadtime improvement over our previous demonstration.