Single-Photon Counting Module

Exploration of Proper Alignment and Usage

Conducted 6 Jun 2016 – 01 Jul 2016

INTRODUCTION

We present a setup for the proper usage and alignment of a Single-Photon Counting Module
traceable to the national optical radiometry primary standard. We achieve 98.5% collection of
output energy as measured by a calibrated Si-photodiode, and report on the linearity of the module
as it approaches saturation.

OBJECTIVE

Single-photon counting technology is a promising new avenue that can provide an independent
primary standard for the measurement of optical power, as well as light and its properties. As
scientific research moves from the classical to the quantum, the reliable detection of single photons
will become increasingly important in metrology. Our objectives were as follows:

1. To characterize the single photon counting module used.

2. To ensure proper coupling between the single photon counting module and a light source.

EQUIPMENT

The detector used for this investigation was the Thorlabs SPCM50A
Single Photon Counting Module (SPCM50A), which operates Detector Type Si APD
Wavelength Range 350 - 900 nm
on an avalanching photodiode principle to detect incident
Active Detector
photons. Its essential specifications are given in Figure 1: 50 μm
Diameter
Eventually, a Coherent Ti-Sapphire 488nm laser was chosen 35% @ 500
Max Responsivity
nm
as the light source.
Dead Time 45 ns
An Ophir Spiricon SP620U Beam Profiling Camera was used to record the beam profiles of light
passing through the above setups

Unfortunately, the uniformity was found to vary significantly with time, especially at the micrometer
level. There was a strong possibility that a sampling approach would result in flux over time, leading
to unexpected saturation and instability in the power measurement.

FOCUSING ONTO DETECTOR

The second approach we chose was to collimate the laser beam and focus as much of the produced
light as possible into the active detector area, with a diameter of 50 μm. This was done using an
objective lens with a high NA (focal length ~1.8mm), sharply reducing beam diameter and giving the
beam a Gaussian profile.
The first stage of attenuation was provided via neutral-density (ND) filters to reduce the intensity of
the light prior to homogenization. The overall attenuation of this sampling scheme would bring the
incident power down to single-photon levels. A modulator system was also employed before the ND
filters, to improve power stability of the laser and reduce jitter. The total optical power of the beam
is then largely controllable by varying the ND filters placed before the collimator.

The SPCM detector was mounted onto a 3D kinematic stage and its xyz-position in space was
adjusted to coincide with the focal point of the objective lens used. This enabled the detector to
collect and measure nearly all the produced light.

488nm Neutral Objective Single-Photon

Modulator
Laser Source Density Filter Lens Detector

Fig. 8 – Final setup for SPCM alignment

When the SPCM detector is properly aligned at the focal point of the objective lens, coupling
efficiency was found to be 99.36% for a centrally-aligned detector with a diameter of 50 μm.

First, our beam profiler determined the beam width to be ~22μm, small enough to fit within the
detector area. Further,

Beam profile ~22μm

Fig. 7 – Gaussian beam profiles in two dimensions

This means that almost all the light produced by the source can be reliably focused into and
detected by the SPCM active detector (subject to photon detection probability). It can be achieved
by usage of a precise kinematic stage and the SPCM’s onboard software, adjusting the detector’s
position until maximal mean photon counts/bin are measured, indicating that the detector is
coincident with the focal point of the objective lens.
LINEARITY AND SATURATION OF SPCM

Once proper alignment was achieved, we were

able to reliably investigate the linearity of the
SPCM as it approached saturation. We inserted a
beam splitter and monitor detector into the
setup, and varied the incident power while
monitoring the corresponding photon count
(Figure 9). The saturation curve initially
demonstrates linearity, but only for an output
photon count of 2 – 13 (at bin length 3 μs).
Thereafter, the curve begins to approach an
Fig. 8 – SPCM Saturation Curve
asymptote, significantly deviating from the initial
Figure 1
linear response after this point. As a result, it is recommended that the attenuation on any light
sources used is calculated to bring the incident power within this range (~ 0-30 pW). It therefore
becomes important to properly characterize and align any attenuating elements used in a setup, as
miscalculation may result in large error due to this linearity.

CONCLUSION

As a final test we compared the SPCM’s power measurement to that of a Si photodetector

(Hamatatsu S1337-1010BQ). At a bin length of 3 μs, the SPCM measured an average power of 1.4252
× 10-12 W; the Si photodiode measured an average power of 1.4472 × 10-12 W. We were able to
repeatably achieve single-photon levels with our setup, as well as account for 98.48% of the energy
produced by the light source.

A discrepancy of 1.52% was noted. There are a number of possible reasons for this loss of energy:

 Beam spread too wide for active SPCM detector.

 Angle of attenuating filters unfixed and/or causing interference.
 Light reflected out of the SPCM and going undetected.

Moving forward to further improve these issues, we will be exploring using higher focal lengths to
focus the beam into an even smaller diameter and avoiding the problem of beam spread. An angle-
independent method of attenuation, or aligning already-used attenuation filters, is also needed in
order to eliminate the error caused by such factors. We also plan to explore using terminated fiber
adapters to couple optical fibers to the SPCM in order to reduce the loss of light via reflection out of
the SPCM detector area.