Département de Génie Électrique et de Génie Informatique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada.
Institute for Quantum Computing, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 23;23(7):3376. doi: 10.3390/s23073376.
We present an integrated single-photon detection device custom designed for quantum key distribution (QKD) with time-bin encoded single photons. We implemented and demonstrated a prototype photon-to-digital converter (PDC) that integrates an 8 × 8 single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array with on-chip digital signal processing built in TSMC 65 nm CMOS. The prototype SPADs are used to validate the QKD functionalities with an array of time-to-digital converters (TDCs) to timestamp and process the photon detection events. The PDC uses window gating to reject noise counts and on-chip processing to sort the photon detections into respective time-bins. The PDC prototype achieved a 22.7 ps RMS timing resolution and demonstrated operation in a time-bin setup with 158 ps time-bins at an optical wavelength of 410 nm. This PDC can therefore be an important building block for a QKD receiver and enables compact and robust time-bin QKD systems with imaging detectors.
我们提出了一种集成的单光子探测器件，专为使用时分编码单光子的量子密钥分发（QKD）而定制。我们实现并演示了一种光子数字转换器（PDC）原型，该原型将 8×8 的单光子雪崩二极管（SPAD）阵列与内置在 TSMC 65nm CMOS 中的片上数字信号处理集成在一起。原型 SPAD 用于使用一系列时间数字转换器（TDC）来对时间戳和处理光子探测事件，以验证 QKD 功能。PDC 使用窗口门控来拒绝噪声计数，并使用片上处理将光子探测分类到各自的时间窗口中。PDC 原型实现了 22.7 ps RMS 定时分辨率，并在 410nm 光学波长下以 158ps 的时间窗口演示了操作。因此，该 PDC 可以成为 QKD 接收器的重要构建块，并实现具有成像探测器的紧凑且稳健的时分 QKD 系统。
