Characterization of an InGaAs/InP single-photon detector at 200 MHz gate rate

Abstract: We characterize a near-infrared single-photon detector based on an InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode and the self-differencing post-processing technique. It operates at gate rates of 200 MHz and higher. The compact, integrated design employs printed circuit boards and features a semiconductor-based self-differencing subtraction implemented with a fully differential amplifier. At a single-photon detection efficiency of 6.4%, the detector has a dark count probability of 9x10^-7 per gate, an afterpulse probability of 6.3% per detection event, a detection time jitter of 150 ps, and a dead time of 5 ns (equivalent to one gate period). Furthermore, it can be operated as a standard photodiode, which benefits applications that require detecting single photons as well as strong light signals.