Experimental demonstration of a predictable single photon source with variable photon flux

Vaigu A, Porrovecchio G, Chu XL, Lindner S, Smid M, Manninen A, Becher C, Sandoghdar V, Gotzinger S, Ikonen E (2017)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2017

Journal

Metrologia Institute of Physics

Book Volume: 54

Pages Range: 218-223

Journal Issue: 2

DOI: 10.1088/1681-7575/aa5ba2

Abstract

We present a predictable single-photon source (SPS) based on a silicon vacancy centre in nanodiamond which is optically excited by a pulsed laser. At an excitation rate of 70 MHz the source delivers a photon flux large enough to be measured by a low optical flux detector (LOFD). The directly measured photon flux constitutes an absolute reference. By changing the repetition rate of the pulsed laser, we are able to change the photon flux of our SPS in a controllable way which in turn can act as a reference. The advantage of our method is that it does not require precise knowledge of the source efficiency, but the source is calibrated by the LOFD and can be used for detector responsivity characterizations at the few-photon level.

Authors with CRIS profile

Vahid Sandoghdar

Involved external institutions

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland FI Finland (FI) Czech Metrology Institute / Český Metrologický Institut (CMI) CZ Czech Republic (CZ) Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light DE Germany (DE) Universität des Saarlandes (UdS) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Vaigu, A., Porrovecchio, G., Chu, X.-L., Lindner, S., Smid, M., Manninen, A.,... Ikonen, E. (2017). Experimental demonstration of a predictable single photon source with variable photon flux. Metrologia, 54(2), 218-223. https://doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/aa5ba2

MLA:

Vaigu, Aigar, et al. "Experimental demonstration of a predictable single photon source with variable photon flux." Metrologia 54.2 (2017): 218-223.

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