Detection efficiency calibration of single-photon silicon avalanche photodiodes traceable using double attenuator technique.

A highly accurate method for the determination of the detection efficiency of a silicon single-photon avalanche diode (Si-SPAD) is presented. This method is based on the comparison of the detected count rate of the Si-SPAD compared to the photon rate determined from a calibrated silicon diode using a modified attenuator technique, in which the total attenuation is measured in two attenuation steps. Furthermore, a validation of this two-step method is performed using attenuators of higher transmittance. The setup is a tabletop one, laser-based, and fully automated. The measurement uncertainty components are determined and analyzed in detail. The obtained standard measurement uncertainty is < 0.5%. Main contributions are the transmission of the neutral density filters used as attenuators and the spectral responsivity of the calibrated analog silicon diode. Furthermore, the dependence of the detection efficiency of the Si-SPAD on the mean photon number of the impinging laser radiation with Poissonian statistics is investigated.