A fast, self-recovering superconducting strip particle detector made with granular tungsten

Gabutti, A.; Gray, K. E.; Pugh, Graham M.; Tiberio, R. C.

doi:10.1016/0168-9002(92)90197-c

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This detector geometry ensures that the detector has a kinetic inductance small enough to allow for ultrafast recovery times, 15 and is large enough to reduce problems with latching as previously reported, 1,3,4,16 therefore allowing its operation in continuous mode. In order to estimate the kinetic inductance K L of the X-SNSPD, a literature value 17 .…”

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confidence: 90%

“…This stands in sharp contrast to the behavior of SNSPDs for optical photons, even in the case of SNSPDs with especially low cut-off energy. 20,21 This can be explained by the fact that the detected photons have about 3 10 ≈ E r times higher energy than visible photons, and that at the same time the cross-section of the conduction path of this detector is only 30 ≈ A r times larger compared to a 7.5 nm thin niobium SNSPD in a reported work 22 results in a vanishing reduced bias current threshold, as the hot-spot is expected to cover the whole cross-section. A more detailed look at the absorption process (see below) shows that this is a very crude approximation.…”

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confidence: 99%

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An ultra-fast superconducting Nb nanowire single-photon detector for soft x-rays

Inderbitzin

Engel

Schilling

et al. 2012

Applied Physics Letters

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Although superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are well studied regarding the detection of infrared/optical photons and keV-molecules, no studies on continuous X-ray photon counting by thick-film detectors have been reported so far. We fabricated a 100 nm thick niobium X-ray SNSPD (an X-SNSPD), and studied its detection capability of photons with keV-energies in continuous mode.The detector is capable to detect photons even at reduced bias currents of 0.4%, which is in sharp contrast to optical thin-film SNSPDs. No dark counts were recorded in extended measurement periods. Strikingly, the signal amplitude distribution depends significantly on the photon energy spectrum.Already more than a decade before the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPD) for the optical and near-infrared wavelength range, serious efforts had been undertaken to adapt this detection principle for X-ray photons with keVenergies. 1,2,3,4 However, these preliminary X-ray detectors struggled with latching, making it difficult to operate them as self-recovering detectors in which superconductivity recovers after photon detection events (called continuous operation mode in this letter). The need to externally reduce the bias current to a value low enough for superconductivity to recover after a detection event results in long dead times and limits the count rates.Very fast and sensitive X-ray single-photon detectors from superconducting nanowires would be very interesting for applications where very high count rates, precise timing, a good signal-to-noise ratio and response in a wide spectral range for photon counting are required.Potential applications comprise experiments with synchrotron X-ray sources, free-electron lasers and hot plasmas (as in nuclear fusion experiments), all emitting bright and pulsed X-ray radiation. In many medical imaging systems ultrafast X-ray single-photon detectors with energy resolution are desirable in order to reduce patient radiation dose. In the recently developing photon-counting X-ray computer tomography for example, long detection pulse durations can compromise the image quality by a possible overlap of succeeding photon pulses, as high photon fluxes have to be used in order to prevent motion blur. 5Recently, SNSPDs 6 and superconducting stripline detectors (SSLDs) 7,8,9,10 with superconducting film thicknesses of up to 50 nm were reported to be used in continuous mode for time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) of molecules with keV-energies, and ultrafast pulse recovery times and pulse rise times down to 380 ps ± 50 ps were reported. 11There is only one report on continuous X-ray photon counting with SNSPDs: Perez de Lara et al. 12 reported on the detection of 6 keV photons by a SNSPD from 5 nm thin NbN.However, there are no published studies on continuous X-ray photon detection in thick-film SNSPDs (called X-SNSPDs in this work), although they are promising candidates for ultrafast detectors in continuous mode.The absorptance of X-ray photons in thin-...

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An ultra-fast superconducting Nb nanowire single-photon detector for soft x-rays

Inderbitzin

Engel

Schilling

et al. 2012

Applied Physics Letters

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“…According to our model, the key to the detector's high performance is a combined mechanism [6] of a photon-induced hot-spot [9] and a subsequently current-induced normal domain spanning the cross-section of a narrow superconducting strip. Absorption of a photon in the superconducting strip creates a high-energy quasiparticle followed by avalanche quasiparticle multiplication.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superconducting single-photon detector for the visible and infrared spectral range

Engel¹,

Semenov²,

Hübers³

et al. 2004

Journal of Modern Optics

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We present results on dark count rates and spectral sensitivities of superconducting single-photon detectors in the visible and near-infrared spectral range. The active detector element is a nanometre-sized (a few nanometres thick and less than 100 nm wide) meander line carrying a supercurrent. The superconducting materials are NbN and Nb, respectively. The NbN detector exhibited a flat spectral sensitivity up to about 2.4 mm. Fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter are considered as a major source of dark count events. A simple model and its limitations to explain the observed dark count rates is discussed. IntroductionSuperconducting devices make some of the most sensitive detectors for a variety of physical quantities, e.g. transition-edge bolometers for radiation [1] or superconducting quantum interference devices for magnetic flux [2]. Essentially, this is due to the special quantum nature of the superconducting state and the low operating temperatures reducing intrinsic noise to a minimum. Single-photon detectors are by definition the most sensitive quantum radiation detectors and once again superconductors open up new possibilities for improvements in detector characteristics compared to their classical counterparts, e.g. photomultiplier tubes [3] or semiconducting quantum detectors [4,5].It is thought that photons absorbed by supercurrent carrying detectors of the type which are presented here cause a normal conducting perturbation that subsequently can be detected as a voltage transient. Various details of the associated theoretical model [6] still have to be verified experimentally. However, the detectors have already been demonstrated to be characterized by ultrafast response times resulting in maximum count rates up to 10 GHz and reasonably high quantum efficiency at very low dark count rates [7]. Conceivable applications could include such diverse areas as future astronomy projects or X-ray spectroscopy. In astronomy there is great need for detectors having background limited sensitivity in the infrared and submillimetre spectral range and X-ray

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“…During the past three decades, a range of different materials were implemented. Among them are granular Al [14] and W [15], crystalline NbVN [16], NbN [17], Nb [18], TaN [19], and amorphous WSi [4]. Over the years material and fabrication quality have improved, leading to better and saturated X-ray SNSPDs (X-SNSPD) [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

X-Ray Induced Secondary Particle Counting With Thin NbTiN Nanowire Superconducting Detector

Branny

Didier

Zichi

et al. 2021

IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.

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We characterized the performance of a biased superconducting nanowire to detect X-ray photons. The device, made of a 10 nm thin NbTiN film and fabricated on a dielectric substrate (SiO2, Nb3O5) detected 1000 times larger signal than anticipated from direct X-ray absorption. We attributed this effect to X-ray induced generation of secondary particles in the substrate. The enhancement corresponds to an increase in the flux by the factor of 3.6, relative to a state-of-the-art commercial Xray silicon drift detector. The detector exhibited 8.25 ns temporal recovery time and 82 ps timing resolution, measured using optical photons. Our results emphasise the importance of the substrate in superconducting X-ray single photon detectors.

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A fast, self-recovering superconducting strip particle detector made with granular tungsten

Cited by 17 publications

References 13 publications

An ultra-fast superconducting Nb nanowire single-photon detector for soft x-rays

An ultra-fast superconducting Nb nanowire single-photon detector for soft x-rays

Superconducting single-photon detector for the visible and infrared spectral range

X-Ray Induced Secondary Particle Counting With Thin NbTiN Nanowire Superconducting Detector

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