Avalanche detector with ultraclean response for time-resolved photon counting

Abstract

Experimental tests have been carried out for characterizing the performance of a new single-photon avalanche diode. The detector is specifically designed for picosecond time-correlated single photon counting, aiming to obtain a time response free from the tail effects and/or secondary bumps observed in all other available single-photon detectors. The experimental results confirm that an unprecedented ultraclean response is attained, with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 35 ps, full width at a thousandth of the peak count of 214 ps, together with a photon detection efficiency of 35% around 580-nm wavelength.