Shangina, E. L., Smirnov, K. V., Morozov, D. V., Kovalyuk, V. V., Goltsman, G. N., Verevkin, A. A., et al. (2011). Concentration dependence of energy relaxation time in AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunctions: direct measurements. Semicond. Sci. Technol., 26(2), 025013.
Abstract: We present measurements of the energy relaxation time, τε, of electrons in a single heterojunction in a quasi-equilibrium state using microwave time-resolved spectroscopy at 4.2 K. We find the relaxation time has a power-law dependence on the carrier density of the two-dimensional electron gas, τε∝nγs with γ = 0.40 ± 0.02 for values of the carrier density, ns, from 1.6 × 1011 to 6.6 × 1011cm−2. The results are in good agreement with predictions taking into account the scattering of the carriers by both piezoelectric and deformation potential acoustic phonons. We compare these results with indirect measurements of the energy relaxation time from energy loss measurements involving Joule heating of the electron gas.
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Kitaygorsky, J., Zhang, J., Verevkin, A., Sergeev, A., Korneev, A., Matvienko, V., et al. (2005). Origin of dark counts in nanostructured NbN single-photon detectors. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 15(2), 545–548.
Abstract: We present our study of dark counts in ultrathin (3.5 to 10 nm thick), narrow (120 to 170 nm wide) NbN superconducting stripes of different lengths. In experiments, where the stripe was completely isolated from the outside world and kept at temperature below the critical temperature Tc, we detected subnanosecond electrical pulses associated with the spontaneous appearance of the temporal resistive state. The resistive state manifested itself as generation of phase-slip centers (PSCs) in our two-dimensional superconducting stripes. Our analysis shows that not far from Tc, PSCs have a thermally activated nature. At lowest temperatures, far below Tc, they are created by quantum fluctuations.
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Vorobyov, V. V., Kazakov, A. Y., Soshenko, V. V., Korneev, A. A., Shalaginov, M. Y., Bolshedvorskii, S. V., et al. (2017). Superconducting detector for visible and near-infrared quantum emitters [Invited]. Opt. Mater. Express, 7(2), 513–526.
Abstract: Further development of quantum emitter based communication and sensing applications intrinsically depends on the availability of robust single-photon detectors. Here, we demonstrate a new generation of superconducting single-photon detectors specifically optimized for the 500–1100 nm wavelength range, which overlaps with the emission spectrum of many interesting solid-state atom-like systems, such as nitrogen-vacancy and silicon-vacancy centers in diamond. The fabricated detectors have a wide dynamic range (up to 350 million counts per second), low dark count rate (down to 0.1 counts per second), excellent jitter (62 ps), and the possibility of on-chip integration with a quantum emitter. In addition to performance characterization, we tested the detectors in real experimental conditions involving nanodiamond nitrogen-vacancy emitters enhanced by a hyperbolic metamaterial.
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Pearlman, A., Cross, A., Slysz, W., Zhang, J., Verevkin, A., Currie, M., et al. (2005). Gigahertz counting rates of NbN single-photon detectors for quantum communications. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 15(2), 579–582.
Abstract: We report on the GHz counting rate and jitter of our nanostructured superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs). The devices were patterned in 4-nm-thick and about 100-nm-wide NbN meander stripes and covered a 10-/spl mu/m/spl times/10-/spl mu/m area. We were able to count single photons at both the visible and infrared telecommunication wavelengths at rates of over 2 GHz with a timing jitter of below 18 ps. We also present the model for the origin of the SSPD switching dynamics and jitter, based on the time-delay effect in the phase-slip-center formation mechanism during the detector photoresponse process. With further improvements in our readout electronics, we expect that our SSPDs will reach counting rates of up to 10 GHz. An integrated quantum communications receiver based on two fiber-coupled SSPDs and operating at 1550-nm wavelength is also presented.
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Korneev, A., Matvienko, V., Minaeva, O., Milostnaya, I., Rubtsova, I., Chulkova, G., et al. (2005). Quantum efficiency and noise equivalent power of nanostructured, NbN, single-photon detectors in the wavelength range from visible to infrared. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 15(2), 571–574.
Abstract: We present our studies on the quantum efficiency (QE) and the noise equivalent power (NEP) of the latest-generation, nanostructured, superconducting, single-photon detectors (SSPDs) in the wavelength range from 0.5 to 5.6 /spl mu/m, operated at temperatures in the 2.0- to 4.2-K range. Our detectors are designed as 4-nm-thick and 100-nm-wide NbN meander-shaped stripes, patterned by electron-beam lithography and cover a 10/spl times/10-/spl mu/m/sup 2/ active area. The best-achieved QE at 2.0 K for 1.55-/spl mu/m photons is 17%, and QE for 1.3-/spl mu/m infrared photons reaches its saturation value of /spl sim/30%. The SSPD NEP at 2.0 K is as low as 5/spl times/10/sup -21/ W/Hz/sup -1/2/. Our nanostructured SSPDs, operated at 2.0 K, significantly outperform their semiconducting counterparts, and, together with their GHz counting rate and picosecond timing jitter, they are devices-of-choice for practical quantum key distribution systems and free-space (even interplanetary) quantum optical communications.
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