Optical-to-electrical conversion, which is the basis of the operation of optical detectors, can be linear or nonlinear. When high sensitivities are needed, single-photon detectors are used, which operate in a strongly nonlinear mode, their response being independent of the number of detected photons. However, photon-number-resolving detectors are needed, particularly in quantum optics, where n-photon states are routinely produced. In quantum communication and quantum information processing, the photon-numberresolving functionality is key to many protocols, such as the implementation of quantum repeaters 1 and linear-optics quantum computing 2 . A linear detector with single-photon sensitivity can also be used for measuring a temporal waveform at extremely low light levels, such as in longdistance optical communications, fluorescence spectroscopy and optical time-domain reflectometry. We demonstrate here a photon-number-resolving detector based on parallel superconducting nanowires and capable of counting up to four photons at telecommunication wavelengths, with an ultralow dark count rate and high counting frequency.Among the approaches proposed so far for photon-numberresolving (PNR) detection (Table 1) are detectors based on charge integration or field-effect transistors 3-5 , which are, however, affected by long integration times, leading to bandwidths of ,1 MHz. Transition edge sensors 6 operate at 100 mK and show long response times (several microseconds). Approaches based on photomultipliers 7 and avalanche photodiodes, such as the visiblelight photon counter 8,9 , two-dimensional arrays of avalanche photodiodes 10,11 and time-multiplexed detectors 12,13 are not sensitive or are plagued by high dark count rates (DKs) and long dead times in the telecommunication spectral windows. Arrays of single-photon detectors (SPDs) also involve complex readout schemes 11 or separate contacts, amplification and discrimination 14. The parallel nanowire detector (PND) presented here significantly outperforms these approaches in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, speed and multiplication noise.The basic structure of the PND comprises the parallel connection of N superconducting nanowires, each connected in series to a resistor R 0 (Fig.
We demonstrate efficient nanowire superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs) based on NbN thin films grown on GaAs. NbN films ranging from 3 to 5 nm in thickness have been deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on GaAs substrates at 350 °C. These films show superconducting properties comparable to similar films grown on sapphire and MgO. In order to demonstrate the potential for monolithic integration, SSPDs were fabricated and measured on GaAs/AlAs Bragg mirrors, showing a clear cavity enhancement, with a peak quantum efficiency of 18.3% at λ=1300 nm and T=4.2 K.
. (2008). High efficiency NbN nanowire superconducting single photon detectors fabricated on MgO substrates from a low temperature process. Optics Express, 16(5), 3191-3196. DOI: 10.1364/OE.16.003191 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Abstract:We demonstrate high-performance nanowire superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs) on bN thin films grown at a temperature compatible with monolithic integration. NbN films ranging from 150nm to 3nm in thickness were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on MgO substrates at 400 • C. SSPDs were fabricated on high quality NbN films of different thickness (7 to 3nm) deposited under optimal conditions. Electrical and optical characterizations were performed on the SSPDs. The highest QE value measured at 4.2K is 20% at 1300nm. Berggren, "Nanowire Single-photon detector with an integrated optical cavity and anti-reflection coating" Opt. Express 14(2), 527-534 (2006). 5. K. Iizuka, K. Matsumaru, T. Suzuki, H. Hirose, K. Suzuki, and H. Okamoto, "Arsenic-free GaAs substrate preparation and direct growth of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well without buffer layer" J. Cryst. Growth 150(1 -4 pt 1), 13-17 (1995 Gol'tsman, and A. Semenov, "Detection efficiency of large-active-area NbN single-photon superconducting detectors in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range" Appl.
We present the first nanoscale (down to approximately 50 x 50 nm(2)) detector displaying single-photon sensitivity and a nanosecond response. This type of nanodetector can also be operated in multiphoton mode, where the detection threshold can be set at N = 1, 2, 3, or 4 photons, thus allowing the mapping of photon number statistics on the nanoscale. Its operation principle based on that of hot-spot formation in superconducting nanowires allies the temporal resolution and sensitivity of superconducting single-photon detectors with subwavelength resolution and photon number discrimination. Such detectors can be of great interest for the study of nanophotonic devices at low temperature.
Physics and application of PNR detectors based on superconducting parallel nanowires 2 Abstract. The Parallel Nanowire Detector (PND) is a photon number resolving (PNR) detector which uses spatial multiplexing on a subwavelength scale to provide a single electrical output proportional to the photon number. The basic structure of the PND is the parallel connection of several NbN superconducting nanowires (100 nm-wide, few nm-thick), folded in a meander pattern. PNDs were fabricated on 3-4 nm thick NbN films grown on MgO (T S =400°C) substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering in an Ar/N 2 gas mixture. The device performance was characterized in terms of speed and sensitivity. PNDs showed a counting rate of 80 MHz and a pulse duration as low as 660ps full width at half maximum (FWHM). Building the histograms of the photoresponse peak, no multiplication noise buildup is observable. Electrical and optical equivalent models of the device were developed in order to study its working principle, define design guidelines, and develop an algorithm to estimate the photon number statistics of an unknown light. In particular, the modeling provides novel insight of the physical limit to the detection efficiency and to the reset time of these detectors. The PND significantly outperforms existing PNR detectors in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, speed, and multiplication noise.
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