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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Korneev, A. A., Divochiy, A. V., Vakhtomin, Y. B., Korneeva, Y. P., Larionov, P. A., Manova, N. N., et al. (2013). IR single-photon receiver based on ultrathin NbN superconducting film. Rus. J. Radio Electron., (5).
Abstract: We present our recent results in research and development of superconducting single-photon detector (SSPD). We achieved the following performance improvement: first, we developed and characterized SSPD integrated in optical cavity and enabling its illumination from the face side, not through the substrate, second, we improved the quantum efficiency of the SSPD at around 3 μm wavelength by reduction of the strip width to 40 nm, and, finally, we improved the detection efficiency of the SSPD-based single-photon receiver system up to 20% at 1550 nm and extended its wavelength range beyond 1800 nm by the usage of the fluoride ZBLAN fibres.
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Lobanov, Y., Shcherbatenko, M., Semenov, A., Kovalyuk, V., Kahl, O., Ferrari, S., et al. (2017). Superconducting nanowire single photon detector for coherent detection of weak signals. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 27(4), 1–5.
Abstract: Traditional photon detectors are operated in the direct detection mode, counting incident photons with a known quantum efficiency. Here, we have investigated a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) operated as a photon counting mixer at telecommunication wavelength around 1.5 μm. This regime of operation combines excellent sensitivity of a photon counting detector with excellent spectral resolution given by the heterodyne technique. Advantageously, we have found that low local oscillator (LO) power of the order of hundreds of femtowatts to a few picowatts is sufficient for clear observation of the incident test signal with the sensitivity approaching the quantum limit. With further optimization, the required LO power could be significantly reduced, which is promising for many practical applications, such as the development of receiver matrices or recording ultralow signals at a level of less-than-one-photon per second. In addition to a traditional NbN-based SNSPD operated with normal incidence coupling, we also use detectors with a travelling wave geometry, where a NbN nanowire is placed on the top of a Si 3 N 4 nanophotonic waveguide. This approach is fully scalable and a large number of devices could be integrated on a single chip.
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Klapwijk, T. M., & Semenov, A. V. (2017). Engineering physics of superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers. IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol., 7(6), 627–648.
Abstract: Superconducting hot-electron bolometers are presently the best performing mixing devices for the frequency range beyond 1.2 THz, where good-quality superconductor-insulator-superconductor devices do not exist. Their physical appearance is very simple: an antenna consisting of a normal metal, sometimes a normal-metal-superconductor bilayer, connected to a thin film of a narrow short superconductor with a high resistivity in the normal state. The device is brought into an optimal operating regime by applying a dc current and a certain amount of local-oscillator power. Despite this technological simplicity, its operation has found to be controlled by many different aspects of superconductivity, all occurring simultaneously. A core ingredient is the understanding that there are two sources of resistance in a superconductor: a charge-conversion resistance occurring at a normal-metal-superconductor interface and a resistance due to time-dependent changes of the superconducting phase. The latter is responsible for the actual mixing process in a nonuniform superconducting environment set up by the bias conditions and the geometry. The present understanding indicates that further improvement needs to be found in the use of other materials with a faster energy relaxation rate. Meanwhile, several empirical parameters have become physically meaningful indicators of the devices, which will facilitate the technological developments.
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Lobanov, Y. V., Shcherbatenko, M. L., Semenov, A. V., Kovalyuk, V. V., Korneev, A. A., Goltsman, G. N., et al. (2017). Heterodyne spectroscopy with superconducting single-photon detector. In EPJ Web Conf. (Vol. 132, 01005).
Abstract: We demonstrate successful operation of a Superconducting Single Photon Detector (SSPD) as the core element in a heterodyne receiver. Irradiating the SSPD by both a local oscillator power and signal power simultaneously, we observed beat signal at the intermediate frequency of a few MHz. Gain bandwidth was found to coincide with the detector single pulse width, where the latter depends on the detector kinetic inductance, determined by the superconducting nanowire length.
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