Photonic detector for quantum applications: DiPho

In this paper, the “DiPho” (Digital Photodiode) device is described. The device is used for quick verification measurements and performance monitoring of photonic sources used in quantum physics experiments. DiPho was designed as a stack of two printed circuit boards (PCB) – one contains the detection element, a silicon PIN photodiode, and analog front-end, while the other contains the necessary digital circuitry. The core of the analog front end is a programmable-gain trans-impedance amplifier which was designed to be capable of measuring photocurrents in the range of 10μA to 10mA. DiPho provides analog measurement output via SMA connector and digital data output via USB serial interface. Moreover, support for single-pair Ethernet (SPE) communication is planned.