Design of low-noise photodetector with a bandwidth of
130 MHz based on transimpedance amplification circuit
Jiliang Qin (秦际良), Zhihui Yan (闫智辉), Meiru Huo (霍美如),
Xiaojun Jia ( 贾晓军)*, and Kunchi Peng (彭堃墀)
State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optics Devices, Institute of Opto-Electronics,
Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
*Corresponding author: jiaxj@sxu.edu.cn
Received August 29, 2016; accepted October 28, 2016; posted online November 23, 2016
A low-noise photodetector is a basic tool for the research of quantum information processing. We present a
specially designed low-noise photoelectric detector with a bandwidth of 130 MHz, using a transimpedance
amplification circuit. Based on the detailed calculation of the dependence on each parameter of the detector,
a useful method of how to design a low-noise and broadband photodetector is provided. When the optical power
is between 1.0 and 16 mW, the photodetector has a good linear response to the injected light. Its electronics noise
power is below −77 dBm, which is within the whole bandwidth. When the incident light power is 2 mW, the
output noise powers are 10.0, 8.0, and 6.0 dB higher than the corresponding electronics noise within the band-
width of 1–50, 50–90, and 90–130 MHz, respectively, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction.
Thus, this photoelectric detector could have good application prospects in quantum communication and an
optical cavity locking system.
OCIS codes: 270.5570, 270.5585, 040.5570.
doi: 10.3788/COL201614.122701.
Quantum information is an important research topic in
the quantum physics world. The development of more
secure communications and faster computing has been
achieved by taking the advantage of the quantum entan-
glement
[1–3]
. Quantum communication is one of the impor-
tant subjects in quantum information research, because it
can guarantee the security of information transmission
from the basic principles of quantum mechanics. With
the rapid development of quantum communication in re-
cent years, the speed of quantum information transferring
is also become faster and faster
[4–6]
. In order to realize the
transmission of quantum information with a high speed in
a continuous variable region, the high-efficiency detection
with enough bandwidth of the light is an essential require-
ment. The noise of quantum communication is generally in
the shot noise limit level, so a low-noise photodetector
with a corresponding bandwidth is needed to realize the
measurement of the light field in quantum communication
research
[7–9]
. On the other hand, quantum entanglement is
a basic resource for quantum information research
[10]
,
while the bipartite Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) en-
tangled state of light is usually obtained from a non-degen-
erate optical parametric amplifier (NOPA)
[10–13]
or two
degenerate optical parametric amplifiers (DOPAs)
[14]
in
the continuous variable region. With the further develop-
ment of quantum information, the demand of the entan-
glement degree of the entangled state light field is higher
and higher, which puts forward a more precise require-
ment of the locking cavity length of an NOPA or DOPA.
In the Pound–Drever–Hall (PDH) locked and frequency-
stabilized system, a sine signal of about 80 MHz is needed
to modulate the laser
[15]
, Thus, a broadband low-noise and
high-gain photoelectric detector is needed to achieve the
high-precision cavity lock in order to achieve a high-
quality resonant cavity lock and reduce the impact of cav-
ity locking in the generation system of the non-classical
light field
[16,17]
.
The shot noise current [alternating current (AC) of the
photoelectric detector] and mean photo current [direct cur-
rent (DC)] must be measured and recorded separately in
some quantum optics experiments
[18,19]
. Currently, there
are some commercial photodetectors with a bandwidth of
about 100 MHz, but these detectors commonly amplify and
output the DC and AC signal together, which would cause
the detector to easily saturate when the light with optical
power over 1 mW is injected into only one photodiode of the
detector
[20–24]
. The main characteristic of our design is that
there are several inductors, beads, and a resistor connecting
in a series in the input port of the amplifier. The DC and AC
signals are separated by an AC-coupling capacitor and then
amplified respectively, thereby effective ly preventing de-
tector saturation at a low input power, and the gain of
AC and DC signals can be independently adjusted accord-
ing to the requirement of each experiment. When the opti-
cal power is between 1.0 and 16 mW, the photodetector has
an excellent linear response of the injected light, and its
electronic noise power is below − 80 dBm, which is within
the whole bandwidth. When the incident light power is
2 mW, the output noise powers are 10.0, 8.0, and 6.0 dB
higher than the corresponding electronic noise within the
bandwidth of 1–50, 50–90, and 90–130 MHz, respectively,
which is in good agreement with our theoretical calcula-
tion. Thus, it has a strong applicability in the laboratory
involving the relative research.
COL 14(12), 122701(2016) CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS December 10, 2016
1671-7694/2016/122701(5) 122701-1 © 2016 Chinese Optics Letters