Using microcontrollers for optimal counting of single-photon events

We used a microcontroller-based setup for the data acquisition in a down-conversion experiment to detect single photon events. This type of setup allows us to compare the effect of the detector's dead time as well as the delay in the data acquisition on the measured data. By using various time windows for the single-photon data acquisition, we estimate the magnitude of the errors in the measuring process as a function of the correlation between the electronics delay and the detector's dead time. Our conclusions are validated by analyzing the particle number, detection rates, and statistical distributions, as well as the correlations between signal and idler photons.