Wahl Michael, Röhlicke Tino, Rahn Hans-Jürgen, Erdmann Rainer, Kell Gerald, Ahlrichs Andreas, Kernbach Martin, Schell Andreas W, Benson Oliver
PicoQuant GmbH, Rudower Chaussee 29, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.
Rev Sci Instrum. 2013 Apr;84(4):043102. doi: 10.1063/1.4795828.
Precisely timed detection of single photons plays an important role in the field of quantum information processing and fluorescence sensing. The method of time-correlated single photon counting is therefore constantly evolving and the associated instrumentation is being improved with new ideas and technologies. Simultaneous, time tagged readout of multiple detector channels is invaluable in many applications, spanning from fluorescence lifetime imaging in biology to the measurement of quantum optical correlations in basic research. Here we present a new integrated design, providing up to three independent input channels, a very short dead time, very high throughput, and a timing resolution of 25 ps at reasonable cost and small size. Apart from design features and test results of the instrument, we show an application in quantum optics, namely, the measurement of the photon statistics of a heralded single photon source based on cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion.
单光子的精确计时检测在量子信息处理和荧光传感领域发挥着重要作用。因此，时间相关单光子计数方法不断发展，相关仪器也借助新思想和新技术得以改进。在许多应用中，多个探测器通道的同时、时间标记读出非常重要，涵盖从生物学中的荧光寿命成像到基础研究中的量子光学相关性测量等领域。在此，我们展示一种新的集成设计，它具有多达三个独立输入通道、极短的死时间、非常高的通量，并且在合理成本和小尺寸下具有25皮秒的计时分辨率。除了该仪器的设计特点和测试结果外，我们还展示了在量子光学中的一个应用，即基于腔增强自发参量下转换的预告单光子源的光子统计测量。
