Abstract
High detection efficiency appears to be associated with a high afterpulse probability for InP-based single-photon avalanche diodes. In this paper, we present a new hybrid quenching technique that combines the advantages of both fast active quenching and high-frequency gated-passive quenching, with the aim of suppressing higher-order afterpulsing effects. Our results showed that the hybrid quenching method contributed to a 10% to 85% reduction of afterpulses with a gate-free detection efficiency of 4% to 10% at 1.06 m, with 40 ns dead time, compared with the counter-based hold-off method. With the improvement of the afterpulsing performance of high-frequency gated single-photon detectors, especially at relatively high average detection efficiencies with wide gate widths, the proposed method enables their use as high-performance free-running detectors.
Highlights
InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) have emerged with the need for near-infrared single-photon detection by applications, such as quantum key distribution (QKD) [1]and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) [2]
When active quenching is added with high-frequency gated-passive quenching, it can maintain the excess bias at a value below break down voltage for a short period of time, e.g., the first tens of nanoseconds, which physically closes the following tens of gates after an avalanche event and prevents the release of afterpulses within these gates
By using a high-bandwidth RF transformer with a center tap and high-speed signal conditioning circuits, the excess bias of the SPAD could be quickly lowered for an adjustable hold-off time after a detection
Summary
InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) have emerged with the need for near-infrared single-photon detection by applications, such as quantum key distribution (QKD) [1]and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) [2]. Compared to other detectors, such as superconducting SPDs, silicon-based SPADs, or photo multipliers, the afterpulsing effects in InP-based SPADs induce more false counts. Striking a balance between afterpulse probability and detection efficiency has been a long-lasting problem for InGaAs SPADs. For a given SPAD, there are typically two approaches to restrain the afterpulsing effects without sacrificing the detection efficiency. One is to hold the SPAD off for a period of time (called the “hold-off time” or “dead time”) after an avalanche event. This method is present in almost all free-running InP-based detectors.
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