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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Arutyunov, K. Y., Ramos-Alvarez, A., Semenov, A. V., Korneeva, Y. P., An, P. P., Korneev, A. A., et al. (2016). Superconductivity in highly disordered NbN nanowires. Nanotechnol., 27(47), 47lt02 (1 to 8).
Abstract: The topic of superconductivity in strongly disordered materials has attracted significant attention. These materials appear to be rather promising for fabrication of various nanoscale devices such as bolometers and transition edge sensors of electromagnetic radiation. The vividly debated subject of intrinsic spatial inhomogeneity responsible for the non-Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer relation between the superconducting gap and the pairing potential is crucial both for understanding the fundamental issues of superconductivity in highly disordered superconductors, and for the operation of corresponding nanoelectronic devices. Here we report an experimental study of the electron transport properties of narrow NbN nanowires with effective cross sections of the order of the debated inhomogeneity scales. The temperature dependence of the critical current follows the textbook Ginzburg-Landau prediction for the quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channel I c approximately (1-T/T c)(3/2). We find that conventional models based on the the phase slip mechanism provide reasonable fits for the shape of R(T) transitions. Better agreement with R(T) data can be achieved assuming the existence of short 'weak links' with slightly reduced local critical temperature T c. Hence, one may conclude that an 'exotic' intrinsic electronic inhomogeneity either does not exist in our structures, or, if it does exist, it does not affect their resistive state properties, or does not provide any specific impact distinguishable from conventional weak links.
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Shcherbatenko, M., Lobanov, Y., Semenov, A., Kovalyuk, V., Korneev, A., Ozhegov, R., et al. (2016). Potential of a superconducting photon counter for heterodyne detection at the telecommunication wavelength. Opt. Express, 24(26), 30474–30484.
Abstract: Here, we report on the successful operation of a NbN thin film superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) in a coherent mode (as a mixer) at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. Providing the local oscillator power of the order of a few picowatts, we were practically able to reach the quantum noise limited sensitivity. The intermediate frequency gain bandwidth (also referred to as response or conversion bandwidth) was limited by the spectral band of a single-photon response pulse of the detector, which is proportional to the detector size. We observed a gain bandwidth of 65 MHz and 140 MHz for 7 x 7 microm2 and 3 x 3 microm2 devices, respectively. A tiny amount of the required local oscillator power and wide gain and noise bandwidths, along with unnecessary low noise amplification, make this technology prominent for various applications, with the possibility for future development of a photon counting heterodyne-born large-scale array.
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Lusche, R., Semenov, A., Ilin, K., Siegel, M., Korneeva, Y., Trifonov, A., et al. (2014). Effect of the wire width on the intrinsic detection efficiency of superconducting-nanowire single-photon detectors. J. Appl. Phys., 116(4), 043906 (1 to 9).
Abstract: A thorough spectral study of the intrinsic single-photon detection efficiency in superconducting TaN and NbN nanowires with different widths has been performed. The experiment shows that the cut-off of the intrinsic detection efficiency at near-infrared wavelengths is most likely controlled by the local suppression of the barrier for vortex nucleation around the absorption site. Beyond the cut-off quasi-particle diffusion in combination with spontaneous, thermally activated vortex crossing explains the detection process. For both materials, the reciprocal cut-off wavelength scales linearly with the wire width where the scaling factor agrees with the hot-spot detection model.
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Semenov, A., Richter, H., Hübers, H. - W., Petrenko, D., Tretyakov, I., Ryabchun, S., et al. (2014). Optimization of the intermediate frequency bandwidth in the THz HEB mixers. In Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (54).
Abstract: We report on the studies of the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth of quasi-optically coupled NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers which are aimed at the optimization of the mixer performance at terahertz frequencies. Extension of the IF bandwidth due to the contribution of electron diffusion to the heat removal from NbN microbolometers has been already demonstrated for NbN HEBs at subterahertz frequencies. However, reducing the size of the microbolometer causes degradation of the noise temperature. Using in-situ multilayer manufacturing process we succeeded to improve the transparency of the contacts for electrons which go away from microbolometer to the metallic antenna. The improved transparency and hence coupling efficiency counterbalances the noise temperature degradation. HEB mixers were tested in a laboratory heterodyne receiver with a narrow-band cold filter which allowed us to eliminate direct detection. We used a local oscillator with a quantum cascade laser (QCL) at a frequency of 4.745 THz [1] which was developed for the H-Channel of the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies (GREAT). Both the noise and gain bandwidth were measured in the IF range from 0.5 to 8 GHz using the hot-cold technique and preliminary calibrated IF analyzer with a tunable microwave filter. For optimized HEB geometry we found the noise bandwidth as large as 7 GHz. We compare our results with the conventional and the hot-spot mixer models and show that further extension of the IF bandwidth should be possible via improving the sharpness of the superconducting transition. The cross characterization of the HEB mixer was performed in the test bed of GREAT at the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie with the same QCL LO and delivered results which were consistent with the laboratory studies.
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