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Author Shcherbatenko, M.; Lobanov, Y.; Kovalyuk, V.; Korneev, A.; Gol'tsman, G. N.
Title Photon counting detector as a mixer with picowatt local oscillator power requirement Type Conference Article
Year 2016 Publication Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal (down) Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 110
Keywords SSPD mixer, SNSPD
Abstract At the current stage of the heterodyne receiver technology, great attention is paid to the development of detector arrays and matrices comprising many detectors on a single wafer. However, any traditional THz detector (such as SIS, HEB, or Schottky diode) requires quite a noticeable amount of Local Oscillator (LO) power which scales with the matrix size, and the total amount of the LO power needed is much greater than that available from compact and handy solid state sources. Substantial reduction of the LO power requirement may be obtained with a photon-counting detector used as a mixer. This approach, mentioned earlier in [1,2] provides a number of advantages. Thus, sensitivity of such a detector would be at the quantum limit (because of the photon-counting nature of the detector) and just a few LO photons for the mixing would be required leading to a possible breakthrough in the matrix receiver development. In addition, the receiver could be easily tuned from the heterodyne to the direct detection mode without any loss in its sensitivity with the latter limited only by the quantum efficiency of the detector used. We demonstrate such a technique with the use of the Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector(SNSPD)[3] irradiated by both 1.5 μm LO with a tiny amount of power (from a few picowatts down to femtowatts) facing the detector, and the test signal with a power significantly less than that of the LO. The SNSPD was operated in the current mode and the bias current was slightly below its critical value. Irradiating the detector with either the LO or the signal source produced voltage pulses which are statistically evenly distributed and could be easily counted by a lab counter or oscilloscope. Irradiating the detector by the both lasers simultaneously produced pulses at the frequency f m which is the exact difference between the frequencies at which the two lasers operate. f m could be deduced form either counts statistics integrated over a sufficient time interval or with the help of an RF spectrum analyzer. In addition to the chip SNSPD with normal incidence coupling, we use the detectors with a travelling wave geometry design [4]. In this case a niobium nitride nanowire is placed on the top of a nanophotonic waveguide, thus increasing the efficient interaction length. Integrated device scheme allows us to measure the optical losses with high accuracy. Our approach is fully scalable and, along with a large number of devices integrated on a single chip can be adapted to the mid and far IR ranges. This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, contract no. 14.B25.31.0007 and by RFBR grant # 16-32-00465. 1. Leaf A. Jiang and Jane X. Luu, ―Heterodyne detection with a weak local oscillator, Applied Optics Vol. 47, Issue 10, pp. 1486-1503 (2008) 2. Matsuo H. ―Requirements on Photon Counting Detectors for Terahertz Interferometry J Low Temp Phys (2012) 167:840–845 3. A. Semenov, G. Gol'tsman, A. Korneev, “Quantum detection by current carrying superconducting film”, Physica C, 352, pp. 349-356 (2001) 4. O. Kahl, S. Ferrari, V. Kovalyuk, G. N. Goltsman, A. Korneev, and W. H. P. Pernice, ―Waveguide integrated superconducting single-photon detectors with high internal quantum efficiency at telecom wavelengths., Sci. Rep., vol. 5, p. 10941, (2015).
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1203
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Author Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Voronov, B.; Okunev, O.; Smirnov, K.; Gol’tsman, G.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, R.; Slysz, W.
Title Superconducting nanostructures for counting of single photons in the infrared range Type Conference Article
Year 2005 Publication Proc. 2-nd CAOL Abbreviated Journal (down) Proc. 2-nd CAOL
Volume 2 Issue Pages 100-103
Keywords SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract We present our studies on ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs are patterned by electron beam lithography from 4-nm thick NbN film into meander-shaped strips covering square area of 10/spl times/10 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The advances in the fabrication technology allowed us to produce highly uniform 100-120-nm-wide strips with meander filling factor close to 0.6. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, an avalanche of excited hot electrons and the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient response across the superconducting nanostrip. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but they have shown that their sensitivity in the infrared radiation range can be significantly improved by lowering the operating temperature from 4.2 K to 2 K. When operated at 2 K, the SSPD quantum efficiency (QE) for visible light photons reaches 30-40%, which is the saturation value limited by optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. For 1.55 /spl mu/m photons, QE was /spl sim/20% and decreases exponentially with the increase of the optical wavelength, but even at the wavelength of 6 /spl mu/m the detector remains sensitive to single photons and exhibits QE of about 10/sup -2/%. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2 /spl times/ 10/sup -4/ s/sup -1/, what makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in the noise equivalent power (NEP) as low as 10/sup -18/ WHz/sup -1/2/ for the mid-infrared range (6 /spl mu/m). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for the other, lower-T/sub c/ superconductors with the narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticle diffusivity. The use of such materials will shift the cutoff wavelength towards the values even longer than 6 /spl mu/m.
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Area Expedition Conference Second International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1461
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Author Okunev, O.; Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Antipov, A.; Smirnov, K.; Morozov, D.; Korneev, A.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Stysz, W.; Wegrzecki, M.; Bar, J.; Grabiec, P.; Gorska, M.; Pearlman, A.; Cross, A.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Sobolewski, R.
Title Registration of infrared single photons by a two-channel receiver based on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors Type Conference Article
Year 2005 Publication Proc. 2-nd CAOL Abbreviated Journal (down) Proc. 2-nd CAOL
Volume 2 Issue Pages 282-285
Keywords NbN SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract Single-photon detectors (SPDs) are the foundation of all quantum communications (QC) protocols. Among different classes of SPDs currently studied, NbN superconducting SPDs (SSPDs) are established as the best devices for ultrafast counting of single photons in the infrared (IR) wavelength range. The SSPDs are nanostructured, 100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ in total area, superconducting meanders, patterned by electron lithography in ultra-thin NbN films. Their operation has been explained within a phenomenological hot-electron photoresponse model. We present the design and performance of a novel, two-channel SPD receiver, based on two fiber-coupled NbN SSPDs. The receivers have been developed for fiber-based QC systems, operational at 1.3 /spl mu/m and 1.55 /spl mu/m telecommunication wavelengths. They operate in the temperature range from 4.2 K to 2 K, in which the NbN SSPDs exhibit their best performance. The receiver unit has been designed as a cryostat insert, placed inside a standard liquid-helium storage dewar. The input of the receiver consists of a pair of single-mode optical fibers, equipped with the standard FC connectors and kept at room temperature. Coupling between the SSPD and the fiber is achieved using a specially designed, precise micromechanical holder that places the fiber directly on top of the SSPD nanostructure. Our receivers achieve the quantum efficiency of up to 7% for near-IR photons, with the coupling efficiency of about 30%. The response time was measured to be <300 ps and it was limited by our read-out electronics. The jitter of fiber-coupled SSPDs is <35 ps and their dark-count rate is below 1 s/sup -1/. The presented performance parameters show that our single-photon receivers are fully applicable for quantum-correlation-type QC systems, including practical quantum cryptography.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference Second International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1462
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Author Tarkhov, M.; Morozov, D.; Mauskopf, P.; Seleznev, V.; Korneev, A.; Kaurova, N.; Rubtsova, I.; Minaeva, O.; Voronov, B.; Goltsman, G.
Title Single photon counting detector for THz radioastronomy Type Conference Article
Year 2006 Publication Proc. 17th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal (down) Proc. 17th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 119-122
Keywords NbN SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract In this paper we present the results of the research on the superconducting NbN-ultrathin-film single- photon detectors (SSPD) which are capable to detect single quanta in middle IR range. The detection mechanism is based on the hotspot formation in quasi-two-dimensional superconducting structures upon photon absorption. Spectral measurements showed that up to 5.7 gm wavelength (52 THz) the SSPD exhibits single-photon sensitivity. Reduction of operation temperature to 1.6 K allowed us to measure quantum efficiency of -4% at 60 THz. Although further decrease of the operation temperature far below 1 K does not lead to any significant increase of quantum efficiency. We expect that the improvement of the SSPD's performance at reduced operation temperature will make SSPD a practical detector with high characteristics for much lower THz frequencies as well.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1438
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Author Gol'tsman, G.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Milostnaya, I.; Chulkova, G.; Voronov, B.; Smirnov, K.; Seleznev, V.; Słysz, W.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, Roman
Title Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single-photon counting in the THz range Type Conference Article
Year 2005 Publication Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal (down) Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 555-557
Keywords NbN SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract We present the results of the NbN superconducting single-photon detector sensitivity measurement in the visible to mid-IR range. For visible and near IR light (0.56 — 1.3μm wavelengths) the detector exhibits 30% quantum efficiency saturation value limited by the NbN film absorption and extremely low level of dark counts (2x10 -4 s -1). The detector manifested single-photon counting up to 6 μm wavelength with the quantum efficiency reaching 10 -2 % at 5.6 μm and 3 K temperature.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1476
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