A recent Journal of Lightwave Technology paper presents a full independent characterisation of our Single Photon Counter AD200 (Silicon), evaluating dark count rate, dead time, timing jitter, afterpulsing, and detection efficiency across multiple operating conditions
Importantly, the study benchmarks the AD200 against other commercially available Si-SPAD modules (Table I). The results show:
- Exceptionally low dark count rates (4–18 s⁻¹) — among the lowest reported
- >40% detection efficiency at 852 nm
- ~160–210 ps timing precision, comparable to or better than most competitors
- Large, uniform 500 µm active area
Table I: Comparison of the AD200 results with other commercially-available si-spads. detection efficiency values at 852 nm were estimated from wavelength response figures available in the referenced data sheets. for detectors with multiple sensor areas available, those closest in diameter to the sap500 are presented. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11304550
The paper concludes that the AD200 demonstrates state-of-the-art performance in dark count rate and timing precision, while maintaining strong efficiency – making it particularly attractive for quantum communications, metrology, and free-space photon detection.
Special thanks to the authors Luke Arabskyj, Liang Qiao, Dmitri Permogorov, Marco Lucamarini, and Christopher Chunnilall for their thorough and independent evaluation of the AD200.
Link to the article “Characterisation of a Low-Noise Tuneable Silicon Single-Photon Avalanche Diode”