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However, it is well-known that the operation of NFADs at low temperatures (193\u00a0K or below) is crucial to minimize the effects of afterpulsing and high dark count rates (DCRs). In this work, we present a new versatile readout electronics system with active afterpulse suppression that also offers flexible cooling options. Through the characterization of two NFAD detectors from Princeton Lightwave, Inc. and a thorough evaluation of our electronics\u2019 performance under various operating conditions, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this readout system in improving the performance of NFAD-based photon detectors. At the optimal bias for NFADs, our electronics were able to significantly reduce the afterpulsing probability by a factor of 200 for dead times ranging from 5 to 20\u00a0\u00b5s following each detection event. This helps to keep the total DCRs at around 100 counts per second or less for a 20\u00a0\u00b5s hold-off time. The versatility of our detection system makes NFADs a cost-effective alternative to more complex detectors, such as superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, in the research of long-distance quantum communications and low-noise single photon detectors at telecommunication wavelengths.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0145196","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,19]],"date-time":"2024-04-19T12:34:04Z","timestamp":1713530044000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1063\/aip-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A versatile photon counting system with active afterpulse suppression for free-running negative-feedback avalanche diodes"],"prefix":"10.1063","volume":"95","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2934-5873","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nigar","family":"Sultana","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo 1 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo 2 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo 3 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jean-Philippe","family":"Bourgoin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo 1 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo 3 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katanya B.","family":"Kuntz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo 1 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo 3 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3545-7505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Jennewein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo 1 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo 3 , Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"317","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"2024041912335706600_c1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.1080\/09500340802263075","article-title":"Single-photon avalanche diodes for the near-infrared range: Detector and circuit issues","volume":"56","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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