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In quantum communication systems, the precise estimation of the detector'sresponse to the incoming light is necessary to avoid security breaches. Thetypical working regime uses a free-running single-photon avalanche diode incombination with attenuated laser pulses at telecom wavelength for encodinginformation. We demonstrate the validity of an analytical model for this regimewhich considers the effects of dark counts and dead time on the measured countrate. For the purpose of gaining a better understanding of these effects, thephoton detections were separated from the dark counts via a software-inducedgating mechanism. The model was verified by experimental data for mean photonnumbers covering three orders of magnitude as well as for laser repetitionfrequencies below and above the inverse dead time. Consequently, our modelwould be of interest for predicting the detector response not only in the fieldof quantum communications, but also in any other quantum physics experimentwhere high detection rates are needed.

Detection of ultra-weak laser pulses by free-running single-photon detectors: modeling dead time and dark counts effects