Method for characterizing single photon detectors in saturation regime by cw laser
arXiv:1003.3485 · doi:10.1364/OE.18.005906
Abstract
We derive an analytical expression for the count probability of a single photon detector for a wide range of input optical power that includes afterpulsing effects. We confirm the validity of the expression by fitting it to the data obtained from a saturated commercial Single Photon Detector by illuminating it with a cw laser. Detector efficiency and afterpulsing probability extracted from the fits agree with the manufacture specs for low repetition frequencies.