Kilometer-range, high resolution depth imaging via 1560 nm wavelength single-photon detection

Abstract

This paper highlights a significant advance in time-of-flight depth imaging: by using a scanning transceiver which incorporated a freerunning, low noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detector, we were able to obtain centimeter resolution depth images of low-signature objects in daylight at stand-off distances of the order of one kilometer at the relatively eye-safe wavelength of 1560 nm. The detector used had an efficiency of 18% at 1 kHz dark count rate, and the overall system jitter was ~100 ps. The depth images were acquired by illuminating the scene with an optical output power level of less than 250 µW average, and using per-pixel dwell times in the millisecond regime.

Stable, high-performance operation of a fiber-coupled superconducting nanowire avalanche photon detector

“…This has had a great impact on a number of research field, including quantum information, laser communications, laser sensing, and fluorescent observation [4][5][6][7]. Significant efforts are being made to achieve further improvement, and a primary concern at present is to resolve the trade-off between different specifications.…”

Optically probing the detection mechanism in a molybdenum silicide superconducting nanowire single-photon detector

“…Their low dark count rate, fast response time, small jitter, and high efficiency favour their use in various demanding quantum optics applications such as quantum key distribution, 3 quantum networking, 4 device-independent quantum information processing 5 and deep-space optical communication. 6 Notably, SNSPDs can be integrated into photonic circuits, 7,8 and their applications extend beyond quantum optics, including light detection and ranging, 9 integrated circuit testing, 10 and fiber optic sensing. 11 One recent important advance in the SNSPD field has been the introduction of amorphous superconductors such as tungsten silicide (WSi), 12 molybdenum silicide (MoSi) 13,14 and molybdenum germanium (MoGe).…”

Amorphous molybdenum silicon superconducting thin films

“…7,8 These devices set new performance benchmarks for infrared photon counting, 9 offering low noise, record high count rates and improved spectral sensitivity compared to off-the-shelf photon counting technologies such as photomultipliers and semiconductor single photon avalanche photodiodes. Important infrared photon counting applications for SNSPDs include quantum communications, 10 ground-tospace communications, 11 quantum computing, 12 atmospheric remote sensing 13 and laser medicine.…”