Fast lifetime measurements of infrared emitters using a low-jitter superconducting single-photon detector

We use a superconducting single-photon detector with less than 40 Hz dark count rate to measure spontaneous emission lifetimes of quantum wells emitting light at wavelengths of 935 and 1245 nm. The timing jitter of the measurement system-which includes the detector and all other electronic and optical components-is 68 +/- 3 ps. We demonstrate how the infrared sensitivity and Gaussian temporal response function of this superconducting detector present clear advantages over conventional detector technologies. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.