Operation of laser diodes in picosecond mode read out by Silicon Photomultipliers
The article published in JINST by DLNP staff members Nikolai Anfimov, Arseny Rybnikov, Aleksandr Selyunin, Sergey Sokolov, Dmitry Fedoseev, and Vladislav Sharov presents the method for generating short light pulses ($< 100 ps) on laser diodes using the Step Recovery Diode (SRD)-based pulse shaper which provides pulse timing characteristics of the order of hundreds of picoseconds and operates at repetition rates of up to tens of MHz. Inexpensive laser diodes triggered by the driver, proposed in the work, generate light flashes shorter than 100 picoseconds. The time characteristics were measured using modern detection methods that provide high time resolution due to the use of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) and a method based on the single-photon arrival time. The work of the system was checked in the wide range of light intensity. The best achieved time resolution was about 50 picoseconds. This method is applicable to Time-Domain Diffuse Optics (TD-DO) and in high energy physics, where adjustable light intensity and high time resolution are important.
