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Author Wiechers, C.; Lydersen, L.; Wittmann, C.; Elser, D.; Skaar, J.; Marquardt, Ch; Makarov, V.; Leuchs, G.
Title After-gate attack on a quantum cryptosystem Type Journal Article
Year 2011 Publication New J. Phys. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 14
Keywords (up) quantum cryptography; hacking; interception; attack; SPD; APD; QKD
Abstract We present a method to control the detection events in quantum key distribution systems that use gated single-photon detectors. We employ bright pulses as faked states, timed to arrive at the avalanche photodiodes outside the activation time. The attack can remain unnoticed, since the faked states do not increase the error rate per se. This allows for an intercept-resend attack, where an eavesdropper transfers her detection events to the legitimate receiver without causing any errors. As a side effect, afterpulses, originating from accumulated charge carriers in the detectors, increase the error rate. We have experimentally tested detectors of the system id3110 (Clavis2) from ID Quantique. We identify the parameter regime in which the attack is feasible despite the side effect. Furthermore, we outline how simple modifications in the implementation can make the device immune to this attack.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 730
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Author Lydersen, Lars; Wiechers, Carlos; Wittmann, Christoffer; Elser, Dominique; Skaar, Johannes; Makarov, Vadim
Title Thermal blinding of gated detectors in quantum cryptography Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Optics Express Abbreviated Journal Opt. Express
Volume 18 Issue 26 Pages 27938-27954
Keywords (up) quantum cryptography; QKD; hacking; SPD; APD
Abstract It has previously been shown that the gated detectors of two commercially available quantum key distribution (QKD) systems are blindable and controllable by an eavesdropper using continuous-wave illumination and short bright trigger pulses, manipulating voltages in the circuit [L. Lydersen et al., Nat. Photonics DOI:10.1038/nphoton.2010.214]. This allows for an attack eavesdropping the full raw and secret key without increasing the quantum bit error rate (QBER). Here we show how thermal effects in detectors under bright illumination can lead to the same outcome. We demonstrate that the detectors in a commercial QKD system Clavis2 can be blinded by heating the avalanche photo diodes (APDs) using bright illumination, so-called thermal blinding. Further, the detectors can be triggered using short bright pulses once they are blind. For systems with pauses between packet transmission such as the plug-and-play systems, thermal inertia enables Eve to apply the bright blinding illumination before eavesdropping, making her more difficult to catch.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 729
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Author Gupta, D.; Kadin, A. M.
Title Single-photon-counting hotspot detector with integrated RSFQ readout electronics Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 4487-4490
Keywords (up) RSFQ, SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract Absorption of an infrared photon in an ultrathin film (such as 10-nm NbN) creates a localized nonequilibrium hotspot on the submicron length scale and sub-ns time scale. If a strip /spl sim/1 /spl mu/m wide is biased in the middle of the superconducting transition, this hotspot will lead to a resistance pulse with amplitude proportional to the energy of the incident photon. This resistance pulse, in turn, can be converted to a current pulse and inductively coupled to a SQUID amplifier with a digitized output, operating at 4 K or above. A preliminary design analysis indicates that this data can be processed on-chip, using ultrafast RSFQ digital circuits, to obtain a sensitive infrared detector for wavelengths up to 10 /spl mu/m and beyond, with bandwidth of 1 GHz, that counts individual photons and measures their energy with 25 meV resolution. This proposed device combines the speed of a hot-electron bolometer with the single-photon-counting ability of a transition-edge microcalorimeter, to obtain an infrared detector with sensitivity, speed, and spectral selectivity that are unmatched by any alternative technology.
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Call Number Serial 1080
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Author Annunziata, Anthony J.; Quaranta, Orlando; Santavicca, Daniel F.; Casaburi, Alessandro; Frunzio, Luigi; Ejrnaes, Mikkel; Rooks, Michael J.; Cristiano, Roberto; Pagano, Sergio; Frydman, Aviad; Prober, Daniel E.
Title Reset dynamics and latching in niobium superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication J. Appl. Phys. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 108 Issue 8 Pages 7
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract We study the reset dynamics of niobium (Nb) superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) using experimental measurements and numerical simulations. The numerical simulations of the detection dynamics agree well with experimental measurements, using independently determined parameters in the simulations. We find that if the photon-induced hotspot cools too slowly, the device will latch into a dc resistive state. To avoid latching, the time for the hotspot to cool must be short compared to the inductive time constant that governs the resetting of the current in the device after hotspot formation. From simulations of the energy relaxation process, we find that the hotspot cooling time is determined primarily by the temperature-dependent electron-phonon inelastic time. Latching prevents reset and precludes subsequent photon detection. Fast resetting to the superconducting state is, therefore, essential, and we demonstrate experimentally how this is achieved. We compare our results to studies of reset and latching in niobium nitride SNSPDs.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 649
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Author Baek, Burm; Lita, Adriana E.; Verma, Varun; Nam, Sae Woo
Title Superconducting a-WxSi1–x nanowire single-photon detector with saturated internal quantum efficiency from visible to 1850 nm Type Journal Article
Year 2011 Publication Applied Physics Letters Abbreviated Journal Appl. Phys. Lett.
Volume 98 Issue 25 Pages 3
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract We have developed a single-photon detector based on superconducting amorphous tungsten–silicon alloy (a-WxSi1–x) nanowire. Our device made from a uniform a-WxSi1–x nanowire covers a practical detection area (16 μm×16 μm) and shows high sensitivity featuring a plateau of the internal quantum efficiencies, i.e., efficiencies of generating an electrical pulse per absorbed photon, over a broad wavelength and bias range. This material system for superconducting nanowire detector technology could overcome the limitations of the prevalent nanowire devices based on NbN and lead to more practical, ideal single-photon detectors having high efficiency, low noise, and high count rates.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 665
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Author Tanner, M. G.; Natarajan, C. M.; Pottapenjara, V. K.; O'Connor, J. A.; Warburton, R. J.; Hadfield, R. H.; Baek, B.; Nam, S.; Dorenbos, S. N.; Bermúdez Ureña, E.; Zijlstra, T.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Zwiller, V.
Title Enhanced telecom wavelength single-photon detection with NbTiN superconducting nanowires on oxidized silicon Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Applied Physics Letters Abbreviated Journal Appl. Phys. Lett.
Volume 96 Issue 22 Pages 3
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have emerged as a highly promising infrared single-photon detector technology. Next-generation devices are being developed with enhanced detection efficiency (DE) at key technological wavelengths via the use of optical cavities. Furthermore, new materials and substrates are being explored for improved fabrication versatility, higher DE, and lower dark counts. We report on the practical performance of packaged NbTiN SNSPDs fabricated on oxidized silicon substrates in the wavelength range from 830 to 1700 nm. We exploit constructive interference from the SiO2/Si interface in order to achieve enhanced front-side fiber-coupled DE of 23.2 % at 1310 nm, at 1 kHz dark count rate, with 60 ps full width half maximum timing jitter.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 655
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Author Yamashita, Taro; Miki, Shigehito; Qiu, Wei; Fujiwara, Mikio; Sasaki, Masahide; Wang, Zhen
Title Temperature dependent performances of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors in an ultralow-temperature region Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 336 - 339
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract We report on the performance of a fiber-coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) from 4 K down to the ultralow temperature of 16 mK for a 1550 nm wave length. The system detection efficiency (DE) increased with de creasing the temperature and reached the considerably high value of 15% with a dark count rate less than 100 cps below 1.5 K, even without an optical cavity structure. We also observed saturation of the system DE in its bias current dependency at 16 mK, which indicates that the device DE of our SNSPD nearly reached intrinsic DE despite the device having a large active area of 20 μm × 20 μm. The dark count was finite even at 16 mK and the black body radiation becomes its dominant origin in the low temperatures for fiber-coupled devices.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 656
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Author Marsili, Francesco; Najafi, Faraz; Dauler, Eric; Bellei, Francesco; Hu, Xiaolong; Csete, Maria; Molnar, Richard J.; Berggren, Karl K.
Title Single-photon detectors based on ultranarrow superconducting nanowires Type Journal Article
Year 2011 Publication Nano Letters Abbreviated Journal Nano Lett.
Volume 11 Issue 5 Pages 2048–2053
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract We report efficient single-photon detection (η = 20% at 1550 nm wavelength) with ultranarrow (20 and 30 nm wide) superconducting nanowires, which were shown to be more robust to constrictions and more responsive to 1550 nm wavelength photons than standard superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, based on 90 nm wide nanowires. We also improved our understanding of the physics of superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors, which we used to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of ultranarrow-nanowire detectors by a factor of 4, thus relaxing the requirements on the read-out circuitry and making the devices suitable for a broader range of applications.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 659
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Author Yang, J.K.W.; Kerman, A.J.; Dauler, E.A.; Cord, B.; Anant, V.; Molnar, R.J.; Berggren, K.K.
Title Suppressed critical current in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with high fill-factors Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 19 Issue 3 Pages 318-322
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract In this work we present a new fabrication process that enabled the fabrication of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors SNSPD with fill-factors as high as 88% with gaps between nanowires as small as 12 nm. This fabrication process combined high-resolution electron-beam lithography with photolithography. Although this work was motivated by the potential of increased detection efficiency with higher fill-factor devices, test results showed an unexpected systematic suppression in device critical currents with increasing fill-factor.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 677
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Author Hu, Xiaolong; Zhong, Tian; White, James E.; Dauler, Eric A. Najafi, Faraz; Herder, Charles H.; Wong, Franco N. C.; Berggren, Karl K.
Title Fiber-coupled nanowire photon counter at 1550 nm with 24% system detection efficiency Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Optics Letters Abbreviated Journal Opt. Lett.
Volume 34 Issue 23 Pages 3607-3609
Keywords (up) SNSPD
Abstract We developed a fiber-coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detector system in a close-cycled cryocooler and achieved 24% and 22% system detection efficiencies at wavelengths of 1550 and 1315 nm, respectively. The maximum dark count rate was ~1000 counts/s.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 679
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