Ultra-sensitive UV solar-blind optical wireless communications with an SiPM

Abstract

In this Letter, an SiPM with a dedicated cooling system suitable for receiving ultra-low-power solar-blind wavelengths is reported. This is designed to decrease the temperature of the detector from 21°C to –10°C, and the corresponding dark count rate (DCR) is reduced by approximately 10 dB. A 275 nm optical wireless communication (OWC) system is established using on–off-keying (OOK) modulation. Transmission rates ranging from 100 kbit/s to 2 Mbit/s are demonstrated with this cooled SiPM. The received power is as low as 30 pW (corresponding to 41.5 photons per bit) at a data rate of 1 Mbit/s and a bit error rate of 2.4 × 10–3.