Towards a Multi-Pixel Photon-to-Digital Converter for Time-Bin Quantum Key Distribution

Autor: Simon Carrier, Michel Labrecque-Dias, Ramy Tannous, Pascal Gendron, Frédéric Nolet, Nicolas Roy, Tommy Rossignol, Frédéric Vachon, Samuel Parent, Thomas Jennewein, Serge Charlebois, Jean-François Pratte
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Sensors, Vol 23, Iss 7, p 3376 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1424-8220
DOI: 10.3390/s23073376
Popis: We present an integrated single-photon detection device custom designed for quantum key distribution (QKD) with time-bin encoded single photons. We implemented and demonstrated a prototype photon-to-digital converter (PDC) that integrates an 8 × 8 single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array with on-chip digital signal processing built in TSMC 65 nm CMOS. The prototype SPADs are used to validate the QKD functionalities with an array of time-to-digital converters (TDCs) to timestamp and process the photon detection events. The PDC uses window gating to reject noise counts and on-chip processing to sort the photon detections into respective time-bins. The PDC prototype achieved a 22.7 ps RMS timing resolution and demonstrated operation in a time-bin setup with 158 ps time-bins at an optical wavelength of 410 nm. This PDC can therefore be an important building block for a QKD receiver and enables compact and robust time-bin QKD systems with imaging detectors.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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