We present photon counting experiments with a single-photon detector based on a field-effect transistor gated by a layer of InAs quantum dots. A cryogenic radio-frequency amplifier is used to convert the photon-induced steps in the source-drain current of the transistor into voltage peaks. We measure a maximum photon detection efficiency of 0.14%, corresponding to internal quantum efficiency of 10%. The dark count rate is less than when the efficiency is 0.045%.
REFERENCES
1.
M. A. Trishkov, Detection of Low-Level Optical Signals (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1997).
2.
R. W.
Romani
, A. J.
Miller
, B.
Cabrera
, S. W.
Nam
, and J. M.
Martins
, Astrophys. J.
563
, 221
(2001
).3.
G. S.
Buller
, S. J.
Fancey
, J. S.
Massa
, A. C.
Walker
, S.
Cova
, and A.
Lacaita
, Appl. Opt.
35
, 916
(1996
).4.
W. C.
Priehorsky
, R. C.
Smith
, and C.
Ho
, Appl. Opt.
35
, 441
(1996
).5.
C. H. Bennet and G. Brassard, Proc. Int. Conf. Computer Systems and Signal Processing, Bangalore (IEEE, New York 1984), p. 175.
6.
G.
Bassard
, N.
Lutkenhaus
, T.
Mor
, and B. C.
Sanders
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
85
, 1330
(2000
).7.
H.
Zbinden
, H.
Bechmann-Pasquinucci
, and N.
Gisin
, Appl. Phys. B: Lasers Opt.
B67
, 743
(1998
).8.
J. Gower, Optical Communication Systems, 2nd ed. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993).
9.
P. A.
Hiskett
, G. S.
Buller
, A. Y.
London
, J. M.
Smith
, I.
Gontijo
, A. C.
Walker
, P. D.
Townsend
, and M. J.
Robertson
, Appl. Opt.
39
, 6818
(2000
).10.
J. G.
Rarity
, T. E.
Wall
, K. D.
Ridley
, P. C. M.
Owens
, and P. R.
Tapster
, Appl. Opt.
39
, 6746
(2000
).11.
G.
Ribordy
, J.-D.
Gautier
, H.
Zbinden
, and N.
Gisin
, Appl. Opt.
37
, 2272
(1998
).12.
Z. Yuan, C. Gobby, and A. J. Shields, Proc. Conf. Laser and Electro Optics, Baltimore, 2003.
13.
N.
Namekata
, Y.
Makino
, and S.
Inoue
, Opt. Lett.
27
, 954
(2002
).14.
15.
A. J.
Shields
, M. P.
O’Sullivan
, I.
Farrer
, D. A.
Ritchie
, K.
Cooper
, C. L.
Foden
, and M.
Pepper
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
74
, 735
(1999
).16.
T.
Lundstrom
, W.
Schoenfeld
, H.
Lee
, and P. M.
Petroff
, Science
286
, 2312
(1999
).17.
J.
Phillips
, K.
Kamath
, and P.
Bhattacharya
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
72
, 2020
(1998
).18.
D.
Pan
, E.
Towe
, and S.
Kennerly
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
73
, 1937
(1998
).19.
S.-W.
Lee
, K.
Hirakawa
, and Y.
Shimada
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
75
, 1428
(1999
).20.
A. J.
Shields
, M. P.
O’Sullivan
, I.
Farrer
, D. A.
Ritchie
, R. A.
Hogg
, M. L.
Leadbeater
, C. E.
Norman
, and M.
Pepper
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
76
, 3673
(2000
).21.
A. J.
Shields
, M. P.
O’Sullivan
, I.
Farrer
, C. E.
Norman
, D. A.
Ritchie
, K.
Cooper
, and M.
Pepper
, Physica E (Amsterdam)
7
, 479
(2000
).22.
A. J.
Shields
, M. P.
O’Sullivan
, I.
Farrer
, D. A.
Ritchie
, M. L.
Leadbeater
, N. K.
Patel
, R. A.
Hogg
, C. E.
Norman
, N. J.
Curson
, and M.
Pepper
, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 1
40
, 2058
(2001
).23.
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2004 American Institute of Physics.
2004
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.
