Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 34: Poster 1
Q 34.79: Poster
Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 16:30–19:00, Poster.I+II
Influence of Photon Number Statistics on the Relative Detection Efficiency Calibration of Single Photon Detectors — •Waldemar Schmunk, Silke Peters, Helmuth Hofer, Johannes Dühn, and Stefan Kück — Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, D-38116 Braunschweig
The detection efficiency ηD of a silicon single photon avalanche detector (Si-SPAD) in Geiger operation mode is an important property in a wide field of applications. Here we present a method for relative detection efficiency calibration for fiber-coupled detectors. In this context we discuss specifically how the photon number statistics of the applied light source influences the determination of the detection efficiency. The results obtained using different light emitters in the calibration process, i.e. classical light emitters like thermal sources or lasers and non-classical sources, e.g. single photon emitters based on nitrogen vacancy (NV-) centers in diamond, are compared. Already for mean photon numbers of about 0.1 the differences in the ηD determination are in the percent range. Furthermore, we determined the photon number distribution of several NV-center-based emitters exhibiting different values of the second order intensity correlation function at zero time delay g(2)(0). The results obtained with a photon number resolving transition edge sensor (TES) and with the On/Off detection technique are in good agreement with the measured g(2)(0)-value from a Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometer.