Superconducting single photon detectors (SSPD) based on nanopatterned niobium nitride wires offer single photon counting at fast rates, low jitter, and low dark counts, from visible wavelengths well into the infrared. We demonstrate the first use of an SSPD, packaged in a commercial cryocooler, for single photon source characterization. The source is an optically pumped, microcavity-coupled InGaAs quantum dot, emitting single photons at 902 nm. The SSPD replaces the second silicon Avalanche Photodiode (APD) in a Hanbury-Brown Twiss interferometer measurement of the source second-order correlation function, g (2) (τ). The detection efficiency of the superconducting detector system is >2 % (coupling losses included). The SSPD system electronics jitter is 170 ps, versus 550 ps for the APD unit, allowing the source spontaneous emission lifetime to be measured with improved resolution.

We describe a new calorimeter for measuring heat capacity in the range 1–35 K, using a silicon chip bolometer as sample holder, temperature sensor, and sample heater. The apparatus is capable of measuring very small samples (1–500 mg), and may be used with a number of different experimental methods.

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We use a superconducting single-photon detector with less than 40Hz dark count rate to measure spontaneous emission lifetimes of quantum wells emitting light at wavelengths of 935 and 1245nm. The timing jitter of the measurement system—which includes the detector and all other electronic and optical components—is 68±3ps. We demonstrate how the infrared sensitivity and Gaussian temporal response function of this superconducting detector present clear advantages over conventional detector technologies.

The authors report on the full implementation of a superconducting detector technology in a fiber-based quantum key distribution (QKD) link. Nanowire-based superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) offer infrared single-photon detection with low dark counts, low jitter, and short recovery times. These detectors are highly promising candidates for future high key rate QKD links operating at 1550nm. The authors use twin SSPDs to perform the BB84 protocol in a 1550nm fiber-based QKD link clocked at 3.3MHz. They exchange secure key over a distance of 42.5km in telecom fiber and demonstrate that secure key can be transmitted over a total link loss exceeding 12dB.