Abstract

We show that a parametric downconversion crystal emitting angle resolved coincident photon pairs can be used to measure the absolute quantum efficiency of a photon counting detection system. We have measured the quantum efficiency of a silicon avalanche photodiode, operated in Geiger mode, as a function of operating voltage and compare this to results obtained using a conventional method.

© 1987 Optical Society of America

Absolute efficiency and time-response measurement of single-photon detectors

P. G. Kwiat, A. M. Steinberg, R. Y. Chiao, P. H. Eberhard, and M. D. Petroff
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Experimental demonstration of single photon rangefinding using parametric downconversion

J. G. Rarity, P. R. Tapster, J. G. Walker, and S. Seward
Appl. Opt. 29(19) 2939-2943 (1990)

Possibility of absolute calibration of analog detectors by using parametric downconversion: a systematic study

Giorgio Brida, Marco Genovese, Ivano Ruo-Berchera, Maria Chekhova, and Alexander Penin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 23(10) 2185-2193 (2006)

Intercomparison of a correlated-photon-based method to measure detector quantum efficiency

Alan Migdall, Stefania Castelletto, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, and Maria Luisa Rastello
Appl. Opt. 41(15) 2914-2922 (2002)

Measuring the absolute photodetection efficiency using photon number correlations

Michael Lindenthal and Johannes Kofler
Appl. Opt. 45(24) 6059-6064 (2006)