Quantum Optics
Coincidence Correlation
Determine the presence of a single quantum system
Coincidence correlation with picosecond timing can be used to determine if one is actually observing a single quantum system in the form of a single photon emitter. Here one employs the knowledge that such a system can only emit one photon at a time. This is because in typical quantum systems such as single molecules or defect centers in diamond there is a characteristic average lifetime of the excited state that must pass before the system can be excited again. If one finds that two detectors observing the source „click“ simultaneously (with statistical significance) then obviously the source cannot be a single photon emitter.
In case of experiments dealing with photon entanglement (example for coincidence counting of entangled photons) one effectively tries to prove or disprove correlations between measurement outcomes using some kind of correlator. In the case of experiments with photons one may, for instance, employ polarizers to filter out quantum states of interest and then use photon detectors to determine whether or not they occurred correspondingly at both parts of the entangled pair. Now, given that photon detectors are not 100% efficient (and actually neither is the creation of entangled pairs and their transmission) one typically must repeat the experiment many times in order to arrive at a statistically reliable answer. Since there can also be unwanted photons from background radiation or detector artifacts it is a smart common practice to perform the coincidence correlation with picosecond timing. The correlations can then be determined for narrow time windows where the knowledge of the time the photons travel can be used to eliminate background.
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In a coincidence correlation set-up, the photons emitted by the systems are split using, e.g. a 50 / 50 beamsplitter or a polarization splitter and send onto two single photon sensitive detectors. The output of these detectors is then fed into a time tagging unit with high temporal resolution that allows not only to detect coincidences in a certain time window but obtain the full second or higher oder correlations.
PicoQuant offers several instruments such as time-tagging units and single photon sensitive detectors that can be used to perform coincidence correlation:
Time-tagging Units
MultiHarp 150High-Throughput Multichannel Event Timer & TCSPC Unit
- 4, 8, or 16 independent input channels and common sync channel (up to 1.2 GHz)
- High sustained data throughput (80 Mcps in time tagging mode, 180 Mcps in histogramming mode)
- Record-breaking dead time (650 ps) per channel
- No dead time across channels
HydraHarp 400Multichannel Picosecond Event Timer & TCSPC Module
- Up to 8 independent input channels and common synch channel (up to 150 MHz)
- Time channel width of 1 ps
- Time tagging with sustained count rates up to 40 Mcps
- USB 3.0 connection
PicoHarp 300Stand-alone Dual Channel Event Timer with USB Interface
- Two identical synchronized but independent input channels
- Time channel width of 4 ps
- Time tagging with sustained count rates up to 5 Mcps
- USB 2.0 connection
TimeHarp 260TCSPC and MCS Board with PCIe Interface for Dead-time Free Coincidence Correlation
- One or two independent input channels and common synch channel (up to 84 MHz)
- Two models with either 25 ps (PICO model) or 1 ns (NANO model) base resolution
- Ultra short dead time (< 25 ns for PICO model, < 1 ns for NANO model)
- PCIe interface
Single Photon Detectors
PDM SeriesSingle Photon Avalanche Diodes
- Timing resolution down to < 50 ps (FWHM)
- Detection efficiency up to 49%
- Different active areas: 20, 50, and 100 µm
- Ultra stable at high count rates
Software
Fast, Intuitive, and Versatile Python Wrappers Software
- Download from GitHub for free
- Benefit from seamless communication, configuration, and data handling with PicoQuant's TCSPC devices
- Access, manipulate, and process raw data stream, or read from file
- Efficiently handle large photon counts with real-time analysis
- Build your own algorithms, implement complex calculations, and develop tailored data processing pipelines directly in Python
Quantum Correlation Analysis Software
- Antibunching (g(2)) measurements including fitting to several models
- Coincidence counting / event filtering, using AND, OR, NOT operators
- Preview of antibunching curve and correlation data during measurement
- Remote control via TCP/IP Interface
The following presentations are related to coincidence correlation and were recorded at our International Symposium on "Single Photon based Quantum Technologies" in September 2020.
Latest 10 publications related to Antibunching
The following list is an extract of 10 recent publications from our bibliography that either bear reference or are releated to this application and our products in some way. Do you miss your publication? If yes, we will be happy to include it in our bibliography. Please send an e-mail to info@picoquant.com containing the appropriate citation. Thank you very much in advance for your kind co-operation.