Low-cost laser diode pulse generator for quantum information applications

Abstract

Abstract A simple short-pulse generator circuit based on electronic gates is designed for short electric pulse of about 12 ns at Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) and 3.6 Volt amplitude for driving a laser diode. Using our circuit with a 780 nm laser diode designed and fabricated for producing short light pulses. The circuit utilizes an AND gate, a XOR gate, and a common function generator, provides a repetition rate from DC up to 1 MHz. The laser pulses were generated and then detected via an avalanche photodiodes (APD). This finding can benefit the field of light-based quantum information including single photon experiments.