High-repetition-rate single-photon receiver and method therefor

摘要

A single-photon receiver and method for detecting a single-photon are presented. The receiver comprises a SPAD that receives a gating signal having a fundamental frequency in the 100 MHz to multiple GHz range. The receiver further comprises a two-stage frequency filter for filtering the output of the SPAD, wherein the filter has: (1) a notch filter response at the fundamental frequency; and (2) a low-pass filter response whose cutoff frequency is less than the first harmonic of the fundamental frequency. As a result, the frequency filter removes substantially all the frequency components in the SPAD output without significant degradation of the signal quality but with reduced complexity, cost, and footprint requirement relative to receivers in the prior art.

主权项

1. An apparatus comprising:
a voltage source operative to bias a single-photon avalanche diode with a gating signal that is characterized by a fundamental frequency; and a first filter that is dimensioned and arranged to provide an output signal based on an input signal from the avalanche photodiode, the first filter having a filter response characterized by (1) a low-pass filter response having a rejection frequency that is less than twice the fundamental frequency and (2) a notch filter response centered at a center frequency, wherein the notch filter response attenuates a first frequency range that includes the fundamental frequency.