Self consistent, absolute calibration technique for photon number resolving detectors

Abstract

Well characterized photon number resolving detectors are a requirement for many applications ranging from quantum information and quantum metrology to the foundations of quantum mechanics. This prompts the necessity for reliable calibration techniques at the single photon level. In this paper we propose an innovative absolute calibration technique for photon number resolving detectors, using a pulsed heralded photon source based on parametric down conversion. The technique, being absolute, does not require reference standards and is independent upon the performances of the heralding detector. The method provides the results of quantum efficiency for the heralded detector as a function of detected photon numbers. Furthermore, we prove its validity by performing the calibration of a Transition Edge Sensor based detector, a real photon number resolving detector that has recently demonstrated its effectiveness in various quantum information protocols.

Highly efficient heralding of entangled single photons

“…In addition, such high coupling efficiency marks an important step toward a loophole-free Bell test as it is relevant not only to the fair-sampling loophole but also to the freedom-of-choice loophole [17,18]. Furthermore, any source that heralds the arrival of a known photon number and energy is also useful for coincidence-based detector calibration [1,2,3,4], which promises to overcome the precision limitations of power and attenuation measurements that presently dominate the calibration process for single-photon detectors.…”

Ultra-fast heralded single photon source based on telecom technology

“…This not only proves negligible multi-photon contributions but also represents the best measured value reported to date for heralding rates in the MHz regime. These prime performances, associated with a device-like configuration, are key ingredients for both fast and secure quantum communication protocols.The reliable generation of single photon states is crucial for a wide variety of quantum optical technologies, ranging from quantum computation and communication [1,2] to quantum metrology and detector calibration [3,4]. As an example, the use of single photon states is essential in quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, where the unintended presence of more than one photon per time window can be exploited by an eavesdropper to extract part of the information [5].…”

Absolute calibration of a charge-coupled device camera with twin beams

“…Development of dedicated methods for absolute calibration of detectors in this context is therefore necessary, as it is widely recognised inside the radiometric community [8]. Some specific activities in this context are already on-going [9, 10], in particular related to the calibration of single-photon detectors exploiting the Klyshko's twinphoton technique [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and its developments [19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

“…Development of dedicated methods for absolute calibration of detectors in this context is therefore necessary, as it is widely recognised inside the radiometric community [8]. Some specific activities in this context are already on-going [9, 10], in particular related to the calibration of single-photon detectors exploiting the Klyshko's twinphoton technique [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and its developments [19][20][21][22][23][24][25].In particular, demand for precise calibration of detectors both in mesoscopic light regime it is relevant not only from the point of view of the development of quantum technologies, but also for establishing a connection between the light intensity level typical of classical radiometric measurements and the quantum radiometry operating at single-photon level [8, 9]. Quantum correlations in twin beams offer an opportunity for reaching this goal, as discussed in [26][27][28][29].…”