The Impact of Afterpulsing Effects in Single-Photon Detectors on the Performance Metrics of Single-Photon Detection Systems

A single-photon detection system based on InGaAs SPADs is a high-precision optical measurement system capable of detecting quantum-level optical signals. However, the afterpulsing effect when using InGaAs SPADs severely limits their practical utility. The impact of afterpulsing effects on the performance of systems based on this type of detector can no longer be ignored. Therefore, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the measurement errors induced by afterpulsing effects and proposes a correction method based on a power-law model. This method analyzes the probability distribution of afterpulsing effects using the power-law model and improves the expressions for the system’s average count rate and signal-to-noise ratio by calculating the average number of afterpulses within the average response time. The influence of afterpulse probability and dead time on the system’s average count rate is also analyzed. This afterpulse correction method mitigates the measurement errors caused by afterpulsing effects, thereby enhancing the system’s measurement accuracy.