A single photon detector testing device and testing method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a single photon detector testing device, which comprises a main control circuit, a narrow pulse light source and a host computer. The main control circuit generates a gate trigger signal sent to a to-be-tested single photon detector and a random light source trigger signal sent to the narrow pulse light source. It also processes the received counting signal from the probe device of the to-be-tested single photon detector to obtain the effective light counts, the invalid light counts, the dark counts, and the afterpulse. The narrow pulse light source receives the random light trigger signal, generates the optical pulse so that the average photon number per pulse reaches the set value of the single photon level and connects the random optical pulse to the optical input port of the to-be-tested single photon detector. The host computer is connected with the main control circuit. The invention also discloses a testing method using the single-photon detector testing device. According to the invention, with simple settings, it is possible to complete the whole test process automatically. Within several minutes, tests can be completed to a plurality of performance parameters of the to-be-tested single-photon detector in an effective and convenient manner.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the field of single photon detection and quantum secret communication, and in particular relates to a single photon detector test device and a test method thereof. Background technique [0002] Quantum secure communication is an important application of quantum communication technology in cryptographic communication. It realizes the transmission of quantum states by transmitting single photons or entangled photons, thereby completing communication. At present, quantum communication technology based on single photon realization, commonly known as quantum key distribution (QKD) technology, has matured day by day. This technology is based on the "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle" and "Quantum Unreproducible Principle", which uses a single photon per bit to transmit random numbers, so that the sender and receiver can generate and share the random number key. In principle, any eavesdropping on the QKD process is bound to be discove...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In the prior art, one method is to open a gate specifically in the dead time to test the after-pulse probability at different moments after the avalanche, and then integrate to obtain the total probability; since the after-pulse counts are very small, the measured error will be large

Another method is to use the frequency of the light pulse to be lower than the trigger frequency of the detector gate, and then obtain the detection efficiency and noise respectively through coincidence and anticoincidence; but this method counts the avalanches detected when emitting light as photon counts, not Very accurate, without subtracting the effect of dark counts

[0008] In summary, in the prior art, there is a lack of an accurate, efficient, standardized test method for single photon detectors for quantum secure communication, and there are large errors in the test methods for detection efficiency and post-pulse

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