Ultrafast single-photon detection at high repetition rates based on optical Kerr gates under focusing
Abdul-Hamid Fattah, Assegid Mengistu Flatae, Amr Farrag, Mario Agio · Optics Letters · 2020
The ultrafast detection of single photons is currently restricted by the limited time resolution (a few picoseconds) of the available single-photon detectors. Optical gates offer a faster time resolution, but so far they have been applied mostly to ensembles of emitters. Here, we demonstrate through a semi-analytical model that the ultrafast time-resolved detection of single quantum emitters can be possible using an optical Kerr shutter at gigahertz rates under focused illumination. This technique provides sub-picosecond time resolution, while keeping a gate efficiency at around 85%. These findings lay the ground for future experimental investigations on the ultrafast dynamics of single quantum emitters, with implications for quantum nanophotonics and molecular physics.