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Updated: May 17, 2026
12:19
Measurement of Quantum Interference in a Silicon Ring Resonator Photon Source
Published on: April 4, 2017
Modeling the avalanche diode as a photon detector in quantum optical interferometers.
Kay Schmid1, Erna Frins, Wolfgang Dultz
1J. W. v. Goethe Universität, Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
Applied Optics
|November 7, 2012
Summary
Avalanche diodes (ADs) can detect biphoton interference in quantum interferometers if noise is reduced. Photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors also offer insights into biphoton interference by analyzing measurement variance.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Optics
- Quantum Information Science
Background:
- Avalanche diodes (ADs) are common photon counters in quantum interferometry.
- ADs register a click for a pulse of photons, not individual photons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the behavior of avalanche diodes (ADs) in quantum optical interferometers.
- To compare ADs with photon-number-resolving (PNR) and Hanbury-Brown-Twiss detectors.
- To assess the feasibility of using ADs and PNR detectors for biphoton interference measurements.
Main Methods:
- Modeling avalanche diode response in Hong-Ou-Mandel and Mach-Zehnder interferometers.
- Comparing simulation results with theoretical predictions for PNR and Hanbury-Brown-Twiss detectors.
- Analyzing the role of detector noise and measurement variance.
Main Results:
- Single avalanche diodes (ADs) can perform quantum interferometric measurements with biphotons if their noise is minimized.
- Photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors reveal biphoton interference information through measurement variance, unlike single-detector counting rates.
- The study provides a theoretical framework for understanding detector behavior in biphoton experiments.
Conclusions:
- Reduced-noise avalanche diodes offer a potential pathway for biphoton quantum interferometry.
- Photon-number-resolving detectors provide valuable insights into biphoton interference beyond simple photon counting.
- These findings could advance the development of quantum optical measurement technologies.
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