Room temperature dual-mode internal quantum deficiency measurement with propagated uncertainty to 0.03% (k=2)

Abstract We present improvements in dual-mode calibration of predictable quantum efficient detectors (PQED) and demonstrate the importance of calculating absolute uncertainties instead of relative uncertainties. We have implemented a new uncertainty component for the thermal fluctuations in the temperature signal which results in a propagated Type A uncertainty, matching the observed standard deviation. A new thermal drift correction method exploiting a monitor thermistor on the heat sink is relaxing the need for thermal stabilisation of the experimental set-up. With beam position uncertainty ± 0.25 mm and background electrical power varying from 10 μW to 900 μW, the measured internal quantum deficiency (IQD) is in average 0.00% ± 0.03% (k=2). The IQD exhibits clear systematic effects of beam position and background power, showing the need for improved design of dual-mode modules to further improve the uncertainty.