Frequency Up-conversion Single Photon Detectors for Quantum Communication Systems

Published

April 27, 2011

Author(s)

Lijun Ma, Oliver T. Slattery, Xiao Tang, Joshua Bienfang

Abstract

Frequency up-conversion technology can be used to increase detection efficiency for near infrared photons, as has been demonstrated in fiber-based quantum communication systems. In a continuous wave pumped up-conversion detector, the temporal resolution is limited by the timing jitter of the detector in the visible range, which limits the maximum clock rate of a quantum communication system. In this paper we describe a scheme to improve the temporal resolution of an up-conversion single-photon detector using multi-wavelength optical-sampling techniques, allowing for increased transmission rates in single-photon communications systems. We experimentally demonstrate our approach with an up-conversion detector using two spectrally and temporally distinct pump pulses, and show that it allows for high-fidelity single-photon detection at twice the rate supported by a conventional single-pump up-conversion detector.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of SPIE

Volume

8033

Conference Dates

April 25-29, 2011

Conference Location

Orlando, FL, US

Conference Title

SPIE Defense Security and Sensing

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

Single photon detector, Frequency up-conversion, Optical sampling

Citation

Ma, L. , Slattery, O. , Tang, X. and Bienfang, J. (2011), Frequency Up-conversion Single Photon Detectors for Quantum Communication Systems, Proceedings of SPIE, Orlando, FL, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908213 (Accessed October 28, 2025)