Photon number resolving (PNR) detectors

Photon number resolving (PNR) detectors have the ability to distinguish the number of arriving photons.The multipixel approach with interleaved detectors is based on the parallel landing and readout of photons onto a detector array whose pixels are uniformly illuminated. With 4 pixels you can simultaneously detect up to 4 photons at the same time. Interleaved detectors are also very convenient to characterize the single photon source purity, as shown in our publication on ACS Photonics.

The fastest SNSPDs on the market – only limited by the laws of physics

In applications such as the lifetime measurement of photoluminescence and photon correlation measurements, high time resolution of photon detectors is of great importance. The time resolution of single photon detectors is characterized by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the variation in the temporal delay from the absorption of a photon to the generation of an output electrical pulse, which is defined as the timing jitter.

Single Quantum SNSPDs have demonstrated the lowest timing jitter on the market, achieved thanks to the cryogenic amplification.

Key performance results

With interleaved SNSPDs, Single Quantum demonstrated > 80 % efficiency at 1550 nm, full efficiency recovery after 4 ns, and -3 dB efficiency point at 1.6 GHz count rate along with an outstanding timing jitter < 18 ps and dark count rate < 100 Hz.

Moreover, such detector technology enable fast on-off gating at unprecedented ns time-scales and becomes particularly interesting in applications where good noise reduction and temporal resolution are a must have.

Ultra-high dynamic range detectors

Near-infrared range to see deeper and better. By providing a wide dynamic range, interleaved detectors proved to be ideal for imaging applications, where it is important to have a linear response for quantitative analysis.