|
|
Seleznev, V. A., Tarkhov, M. A., Voronov, B. M., Milostnaya, I. I., Lyakhno, V. Y., Garbuz, A. S., et al. (2008). Deposition and characterization of few-nanometers-thick superconducting Mo-Re films. Supercond. Sci. Technol., 21(11), 115006 (1 to 6).
Abstract: We report on the fabrication and investigation of few-nanometers-thick superconducting molybdenum-rhenium (Mo-Re) films intended for use in nanowire single-photon superconducting detectors (SSPDs). Mo-Re films were deposited on sapphire substrates by DC magnetron sputtering of an Mo(60)-Re(40) alloy target in an atmosphere of argon. The films 2-10 nm thick had critical temperatures (Tc) from 5.6 to 9.7 K. HRTEM (high-resolution transmission electron microscopy) analysis showed that the films had a homogeneous structure. XPS (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis showed the Mo to Re atom ratio to be 0.575/0.425, oxygen concentration to be 10%, and concentration of other elements to be 1%.
|
|
|
|
Korneev, A., Divochiy, A., Tarkhov, M., Minaeva, O., Seleznev, V., Kaurova, N., et al. (2008). Superconducting NbN-nanowire single-photon detectors capable of photon number resolving. In Supercond. News Forum.
Abstract: We present our latest generation of ultra-fast superconducting NbN single-photon detectors (SSPD) capable of photon-number resolving (PNR). The novel SSPDs combine 10 μm x 10 μm active area with low kinetic inductance and PNR capability. That resulted in significantly reduced photoresponse pulse duration, allowing for GHz counting rates. The detector’s response magnitude is directly proportional to the number of incident photons, which makes this feature easy to use. We present experimental data on the performance of the PNR SSPDs. These detectors are perfectly suited for fibreless free-space telecommunications, as well as for ultra-fast quantum cryptography and quantum computing.
|
|
|
|
Okunev, O., Chulkova, G., Milostnaya, I., Antipov, A., Smirnov, K., Morozov, D., et al. (2008). Registration of infrared single photons by a two-channel receiver based on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors. In I. A. Sukhoivanov, V. A. Svich, & Y. S. Shmaliy (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 7009, 70090V (1 to 8)). SPIE.
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 μm2 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 μm and 1.55 μm 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-heliumstorage 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 < 1.5 ns 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 1s-1. The presented performance parameters show that our single-photon receivers are fully applicable for quantum correlation-type QC systems, including practical quantum cryptography.
|
|
|
|
Slysz, W., Wegrzecki, M., Bar, J., Grabiec, P., Gorska, M., Rieger, E., et al. (2007). Fiber-coupled NbN superconducting single-photon detectors for quantum correlation measurements. In M. Dusek, M. S. Hillery, W. P. Schleich, I. Prochazka, A. L. Migdall, & A. Pauchard (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 6583, 65830J (1 to 11)). Spie.
Abstract: We have fabricated fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs), designed for quantum-correlationtype experiments. The SSPDs are nanostructured ( 100-nm wide and 4-nm thick) NbN superconducting meandering stripes, operated in the 2 to 4.2 K temperature range, and known for ultrafast and efficient detection of visible to nearinfrared photons with almost negligible dark counts. Our latest devices are pigtailed structures with coupling between the SSPD structure and a single-mode optical fiber achieved using a micromechanical photoresist ring placed directly over the meander. The above arrangement withstands repetitive thermal cycling between liquid helium and room temperature, and we can reach the coupling efficiency of up to 33%. The system quantum efficiency, measured as the ratio of the photons counted by SSPD to the total number of photons coupled into the fiber, in our early devices was found to be around 0.3 % and 1% for 1.55 &mgr;m and 0.9 &mgr;m photon wavelengths, respectively. The photon counting rate exceeded 250 MHz. The receiver with two SSPDs, each individually biased, was placed inside a transport, 60-liter liquid helium Dewar, assuring uninterrupted operation for over 2 months. Since the receiver’s optical and electrical connections are at room temperature, the set-up is suitable for any applications, where single-photon counting capability and fast count rates are desired. In our case, it was implemented for photon correlation experiments. The receiver response time, measured as a second-order photon cross-correlation function, was found to be below 400 ps, with timing jitter of less than 40 ps.
|
|
|
|
Milostnaya, I., Korneev, A., Minaeva, O., Rubtsova, I., Slepneva, S., Seleznev, V., et al. (2005). Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single photon counting of mid-infrared optical radiation. In A. Rogalski, E. L. Dereniak, & F. F. Sizov (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 5957, 59570A (1 to 9)). SPIE.
Abstract: We report on our progress in research and development of ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs were made of the 4-nm-thick NbN films with Tc 11 K, patterned as meander-shaped, 100-nm-wide strips, and covering an area of 10×10 μm2. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, a hotspot of excited electrons and redistribution of the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient signal across the superconducting nanostripe. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but 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 the optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. With the wavelength increase of the incident photons,the QE of SSPDs decreases significantly, but even at the wavelength of 6 μm, the detector is able to count single photons and exhibits QE of about 10-2 %. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2x10-4 s,-1 which makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in a noise equivalent power (NEP) below 10-18 WHz-1/2 for the mid-infrared range (6 μm). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for another, lower-Tc materials with a narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticles diffusivity. The use of such superconductors should shift the cutoff wavelength below 10 μm.
|
|
|
|
Goltsman, G., Korneev, A., Minaeva, O., Rubtsova, I., Chulkova, G., Milostnaya, I., et al. (2005). Advanced nanostructured optical NbN single-photon detector operated at 2.0 K. In M. Razeghi, & G. J. Brown (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 5732, pp. 520–529). Spie.
Abstract: We present our studies on quantum efficiency (QE), dark counts, and noise equivalent power (NEP) of the latest generation of nanostructured NbN superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) operated at 2.0 K. Our SSPDs are based on 4 nm-thick NbN films, patterned by electron beam lithography as highly-uniform 100÷120-nm-wide meander-shaped stripes, covering the total area of 10x10 μm2 with the meander filling factor of 0.7. Advances in the fabrication process and low-temperature operation lead to QE as high as 30-40% for visible-light photons (0.56 μm wavelength)-the saturation value, limited by optical absorption of the NbN film. For 1.55 μm photons, QE was 20% and decreased exponentially with the wavelength reaching 0.02% at the 5-μm wavelength. Being operated at 2.0-K temperature the SSPDs revealed an exponential decrease of the dark count rate, what along with the high QE, resulted in the NEP as low as 5x10-21 W/Hz-1/2, the lowest value ever reported for near-infrared optical detectors. The SSPD counting rate was measured to be above 1 GHz with the pulse-to-pulse jitter below 20 ps. Our nanostructured NbN SSPDs operated at 2.0 K significantly outperform their semiconducting counterparts and find practical applications ranging from noninvasive testing of CMOS VLSI integrated circuits to ultrafast quantum communications and quantum cryptography.
|
|
|
|
Karasik, B. S., Zorin, M. A., Milostnaya, I. I., Elantev, A. I., Gol’tsman, G. N., & Gershenzon, E. M. (1994). Evidence of subnanosecond transition stage in S-N current switching of YBaCuO films. In R. A. Buhrman, J. T. Clarke, K. Daly, R. H. Koch, J. A. Luine, & R. W. Simon (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 2160, pp. 74–82). SPIE.
Abstract: We report on a study of S-N and N-S current switching in high quality YBaCuO films deposited onto ZrO2 and NdGaO3 substrates. The films 60-120 nm thick prepared by laser ablation were structured into single strips and were provided with gold contacts. We monitored the time dependence of the resistance upon application of the voltage step on the film. Experiment performed within certain ranges of voltage amplitudes and temperatures showed the occurrence of the fast stage both in S-N (shorter than 300 ps) and N-S transition. We discuss the mechanism of switching taking into account the hot electron phenomena in YBaCuO. The contributions of various thermal processes in the subsequent stage of the resistance dynamic are also discussed. The basic limiting characteristics (average dissipated power, minimum work done for switching, maximum repetition rate) of a picosecond switch which is proposed to be developed are estimated.
|
|
|
|
Kitaygorsky, J., Komissarov, I., Jukna, A., Minaeva, O., Kaurova, N., Divochiy, A., et al. (2007). Fluctuations in two-dimensional superconducting NbN nanobridges and nanostructures meanders. In Proc. APS March Meeting (Vol. 52, L9.00013).
Abstract: We have observed fluctuations, manifested as sub-nanosecond to nanosecond transient, millivolt-amplitude voltage pulses, generated in two-dimensional NbN nanobridges, as well as in extended superconducting meander nanostructures, designed for single photon counting. Both nanobridges and nano-stripe meanders were biased at currents close to the critical current and measured in a range of temperatures from 1.5 to 8 K. During the tests, the devices were blocked from all incoming radiation by a metallic enclosure and shielded from any external magnetic fields. We attribute the observed spontaneous voltage pulses to the Kosterlitz-Thouless-type fluctuations, where the high enough applied bias current reduces the binding energy of vortex-antivortex pairs and, subsequently, thermal fluctuations break them apart causing the order parameter to momentarily reduce to zero, which in turn causes a transient voltage pulse. The duration of the voltage pulses depended on the device geometry (with the high-kinetic inductance meander structures having longer, nanosecond, pulses) while their rate was directly related to the biasing current as well as temperature.
|
|
|
|
Kitaygorsky, J., Komissarov, I., Jukna, A., Sobolewski, R., Minaeva, O., Kaurova, N., et al. (2006). Nanosecond, transient resistive state in two-dimensional superconducting stripes. In Proc. APS March Meeting (H38.13).
Abstract: We have observed, nanosecond-in-duration, transient voltage pulses, generated across two-dimensional (2-D) NbN stripes (width: 100--500 nm; thickness: 3.5--10 nm) of various lengths (1--500 μm), when the wires were completely isolated from the outside world, biased at currents close to the critical current, and kept at temperatures below the mean-field critical temperature Tco. In 2-D superconducting films, at temperatures below the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, all vortices are bound and the resistance is zero. However, these vortices can get unbound when a large enough transport current is applied. The latter results in a transient resistive state, which manifests itself as spontaneous, 2.5--8-ns-long voltage pulses with the amplitude corresponding to the unbinding potential of a vortex pair. In our 100-nm-wide stripes, we have also observed the formation of phase slip centers (PSCs) at temperatures close to Tco, and a mixture of PSCs and unbound vortex-antivortex pairs at low temperatures.
|
|
|
|
Rubtsova, I., Korneev, A., Matvienko, V., Chulkova, G., Milostnaya, I., Goltsman, G., et al. (2004). Spectral sensitivity, quantum efficiency, and noise equivalent power of NbN superconducting single-photon detectors in the IR range. In Proc. 29th IRMMW / 12th THz (pp. 461–462).
Abstract: We have developed nanostructured NbN superconducting single-photon detectors capable of GHz-rate photon counting in the 0.4 to 5 /spl mu/m wavelength range. Quantum efficiency of 30%, dark count rate 3/spl times/10/sup -4/ s/sup -1/, and NEP=10/sup -20/ W/Hz/sup -1/2/ have been measured at the 1.3-/spl mu/m wavelength for the device operating at 2.0 K.
|
|
