Photon-number statistics and correlations with Silicon photomultipliers

Abstract

We present the characterization of a multi-pixel detector (SiPM, Hamamatsu) in the presence of dark-count and cross-talk effects. Our description yields a self-consistent calibration of the device, based on the light under investigation, which is used to evaluate shot-by-shot detected-photon numbers including dark-counts and cross-talk. The analysis allows us to reliably reconstruct the detected-photons statistics of different light states by taking into account the modifications introduced by detector features. Finally we quantify photon-number correlations in bipartite states and use the data to produce conditional states: only if dark-count and cross-talk effects can be neglected, the experimental results match theory