• DocumentCode
    1526853
  • Title

    Low-noise single-photon detection at wavelength 1.55 μm

  • Author

    Hiskett, P.A. ; Smith, J.M. ; Buller, G.S. ; Townsend, P.D.

  • Author_Institution
    Dept. of Phys., Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh, UK
  • Volume
    37
  • Issue
    17
  • fYear
    2001
  • fDate
    8/16/2001 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    1081
  • Lastpage
    1083
  • Abstract
    The photon-counting performance of commercially available InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes operated in Geiger mode was investigated at temperatures between 77 and 260 K. In particular, their noise equivalent power was measured to be 4×10-17 WHz -1/2 at 77 K. The implications of these results in the context of a quantum cryptography application are discussed
  • Keywords
    III-V semiconductors; avalanche breakdown; avalanche photodiodes; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; infrared detectors; optical communication; optical noise; photodetectors; photon counting; quantum cryptography; semiconductor heterojunctions; 1.55 mum; 77 to 260 K; Geiger mode; InGaAs-InP; InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes; low-noise single-photon detection; noise equivalent power; photon-counting performance; quantum cryptography application; single-photon detection; temperatures;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Electronics Letters
  • Publisher
    iet
  • ISSN
    0013-5194
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1049/el:20010734
  • Filename
    948338