Abstract

Development of reliable photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRDs), devices that are capable of distinguishing 1,2,3… photons, is of a great importance for quantum optics and its applications. A new class of affordable PNRD is based on multipixel photon counters (MPPCs). Here we review results of experiments on using MPPCs for direct characterization of squeezed vacuum (SV) states, generated via parametric downconversion. We use MPPCs to measure the second-order normalized intensity correlation function ($g^{(2)}$) and directly detect the two-mode squeezing of SV states. We also present a method of calibration of crosstalk probability in MPPCs based on $g^{(2)}$ measurements of coherent states.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

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