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Marksteiner, M., Divochiy, A., Sclafani, M., Haslinger, P., Ulbricht, H., Korneev, A., et al. (2009). A superconducting NbN detector for neutral nanoparticles. Nanotechnol., 20(45), 455501.
Abstract: We present a proof-of-principle study of superconducting single photon detectors (SSPD) for the detection of individual neutral molecules/nanoparticles at low energies. The new detector is applied to characterize a laser desorption source for biomolecules and allows retrieval of the arrival time distribution of a pulsed molecular beam containing the amino acid tryptophan, the polypeptide gramicidin as well as insulin, myoglobin and hemoglobin. We discuss the experimental evidence that the detector is actually sensitive to isolated neutral particles.
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Finkel, M., Thierschmann, H., Galatro, L., Katan, A. J., Thoen, D. J., de Visser, P. J., et al. (2017). Performance of THz components based on microstrip PECVD SiNx technology. IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol., 7(6), 765–771.
Abstract: We present a performance analysis of passive THz components based on Microstrip transmission lines with a 2-μmthin plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition grown silicon nitride (PECVD SiNX) dielectric layer. A set of thru-reflect-line calibration structures is used for basic transmission line characterizations. We obtain losses of 9 dB/mm at 300 GHz. Branchline hybrid couplers are realized that exhibit 2.5-dB insertion loss, 1-dB amplitude imbalance, and -26-dB isolation, in agreement with simulations. We use the measured center frequency to determine the dielectric constant of the PECVD SiN x , which yields 5.9. We estimate the wafer-to-wafer variations to be of the order of 1%. Directional couplers are presented which exhibit -12-dB transmission to the coupled port and -26 dB to the isolated port. For transmission lines with 5-μm-thin silicon nitride (SiN x ), we observe losses below 4 dB/mm. The thin SiN x dielectric membrane makes the THz components compatible with scanning probe microscopy cantilevers allowing the application of this technology in on-chip circuits of a THz near-field microscope.
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Słysz, W., Wegrzecki, M., Bar, J., Grabiec, P., Górska, M., Zwiller, V., et al. (2007). Fibre-coupled, single photon detector based on NbN superconducting nanostructures for quantum communications. J. Modern Opt., 54(2-3), 315–326.
Abstract: We present a novel, two-channel, single photon receiver based on two fibre-coupled, NbN, superconducting, single photon detectors (SSPDs). The SSPDs are nanostructured superconducting meanders and are known for ultrafast and efficient detection of visible-to-infrared photons. Coupling between the NbN detector and optical fibre was achieved using a micromechanical photoresist ring placed directly over the SSPD, holding the fibre in place. With this arrangement, we obtained coupling efficiencies up to ∼30%. Our experimental results showed that the best receiver had a near-infrared system quantum efficiency of 0.33% at 4.2 K. The quantum efficiency increased exponentially with the photon energy increase, reaching a few percent level for visible-light photons. The photoresponse pulses of our devices were limited by the meander high kinetic inductance and had the rise and fall times of approximately 250 ps and 5 ns, respectively. The receiver's timing jitter was in the 37 to 58 ps range, approximately 2 to 3 times larger than in our older free-space-coupled SSPDs. We stipulate that this timing jitter is in part due to optical fibre properties. Besides quantum communications, the two-detector arrangement should also find applications in quantum correlation experiments.
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Korneev, A., Divochiy, A., Marsili, F., Bitauld, D., Fiore, A., Seleznev, V., et al. (2008). Superconducting photon number resolving counter for near infrared applications. In P. Tománek, D. Senderáková, & M. Hrabovský (Eds.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 7138, 713828 (1 to 5)). Spie.
Abstract: We present a novel concept of photon number resolving detector based on 120-nm-wide superconducting stripes made of 4-nm-thick NbN film and connected in parallel (PNR-SSPD). The detector consisting of 5 strips demonstrate a capability to resolve up to 4 photons absorbed simultaneously with the single-photon quantum efficiency of 2.5% and negligibly low dark count rate.
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Okunev, O., Smirnov, K., Chulkova, G., Korneev, A., Lipatov, A., Gol'tsman, G., et al. (2002). Ultrafast NBN hot-electron single-photon detectors for electronic applications. In Abstracts 8-th IUMRS-ICEM.
Abstract: We present a new, simple to manufacture, single-photon detector (SPD), which can work from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths of optical radiation and combines high speed of operation, high quantum efficiency (QE), and very low dark counts. The devices are superconducting and operate at temperature below 5 K. The physics of operation of our SPD is based on formation of a photon-induced resistive hotspot and subsequent appearance of a transient resistive barrier across an ultrathin and submicron-wide superconductor.
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