Korneev, A., Kovalyuk, V., Ferrari, S., Kahl, O., Pernice, W., An, P., et al. (2017). Superconducting Single-Photon Detectors for Integrated Nanophotonics Circuits. In 16th ISEC (pp. 1–3).
Abstract: We present an overview of our recent achievements in integration of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors SNSPD with dielectric optical waveguides. We are able to produce complex nanophotonics integrated circuits containing optical elements and photon detector on single chip thus producing a compact integrated platform for quantum optics applications.
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Ferrari, S., Kahl, O., Kovalyuk, V., Goltsman, G. N., Korneev, A., & Pernice, W. H. P. (2015). Waveguide-integrated single- and multi-photon detection at telecom wavelengths using superconducting nanowires. Appl. Phys. Lett., 106(15), 151101 (1 to 5).
Abstract: We investigate single- and multi-photon detection regimes of superconducting nanowire detectors embedded in silicon nitride nanophotonic circuits. At near-infrared wavelengths, simultaneous detection of up to three photons is observed for 120 nm wide nanowires biased far from the critical current, while narrow nanowires below 100 nm provide efficient single photon detection. A theoretical model is proposed to determine the different detection regimes and to calculate the corresponding internal quantum efficiency. The predicted saturation of the internal quantum efficiency in the single photon regime agrees well with plateau behavior observed at high bias currents.
W. H. P. Pernice acknowledges support by the DFG Grant Nos. PE 1832/1-1 and PE 1832/1-2 and the Helmholtz society through Grant No. HIRG-0005. The Ph.D. education of O. Kahl is embedded in the Karlsruhe School of Optics and Photonics (KSOP). G. N. Goltsman acknowledges support by Russian Federation President Grant HШ-1918.2014.2 and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Contract No.: RFMEFI58614X0007. A. Korneev acknowledges support by Statement Task No. 3.1846.2014/k. V. Kovalyuk acknowledges support by Statement Task No. 2327. We also acknowledge support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the State of Baden-Württemberg through the DFG-Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) within subproject A6.4. We thank S. Kühn and S. Diewald for the help with device fabrication as well as B. Voronov and A. Shishkin for help with NbN thin film deposition and A. Semenov for helpful discussion about the detection mechanism of nanowire SSPD's.
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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Kardakova, A., Finkel, M., Morozov, D., Kovalyuk, V., An, P., Dunscombe, C., et al. (2013). The electron-phonon relaxation time in thin superconducting titanium nitride films. Appl. Phys. Lett., 103(25), 252602 (1 to 4).
Abstract: We report on the direct measurement of the electron-phonon relaxation time, τeph, in disordered TiN films. Measured values of τeph are from 5.5 ns to 88 ns in the 4.2 to 1.7 K temperature range and consistent with a T−3 temperature dependence. The electronic density of states at the Fermi level N0 is estimated from measured material parameters. The presented results confirm that thin TiN films are promising candidate-materials for ultrasensitive superconducting detectors.
The work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Contract No. 14.B25.31.0007 and by the RFBR Grant No. 13-02-91159.
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Ferrari, S., Kovalyuk, V., Vetter, A., Lee, C., Rockstuhl, C., Semenov, A., et al. (2019). Analysis of the detection response of waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors at high count rate. Appl. Phys. Lett., 115(10), 101104.
Abstract: Nanophotonic circuitry and superconducting nanowires have been successfully combined for detecting single photons, propagating in an integrated photonic circuit, with high efficiency and low noise and timing uncertainty. Waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) can nowadays be engineered to achieve subnanosecond recovery times and can potentially be adopted for applications requiring Gcps count rates. However, particular attention shall be paid to such an extreme count rate regime since artifacts in the detector functionality emerge. In particular, a count-rate dependent detection efficiency has been encountered that can compromise the accuracy of quantum detector tomography experiments. Here, we investigate the response of waveguide-integrated SNSPDs at high photon flux and identify the presence of parasitic currents due to the accumulation of charge in the readout electronics to cause the above-mentioned artifact in the detection efficiency. Our approach allows us to determine the maximum photon count rate at which the detector can be operated without adverse effects. Our findings are particularly important to avoid artifacts when applying SNSPDs for quantum tomography.
We acknowledge support through ERC Consolidator Grant No. 724707 and from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through Project No. PE 1832/5-1,2, as well as funding by the Volkswagen Foundation. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 675745. V.K. and G.G. acknowledge support from the Russian Science Foundation Project No. 16-12-00045 (NbN film deposition and testing). A.V. acknowledges support from the Karlsruhe School of Optics and Photonics (KSOP).
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Kahl, O., Ferrari, S., Kovalyuk, V., Vetter, A., Lewes-Malandrakis, G., Nebel, C., et al. (2016). Spectrally resolved single-photon imaging with hybrid superconducting – nanophotonic circuits. arXiv:1609.07857v1 [physics.ins-det].
Abstract: The detection of individual photons is an inherently binary mechanism, revealing either their absence or presence while concealing their spectral information. For multi-color imaging techniques, such as single photon spectroscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, wavelength discrimination is essential and mandates spectral separation prior to detection. Here, we adopt an approach borrowed from quantum photonic integration to realize a compact and scalable waveguide-integrated single-photon spectrometer capable of parallel detection on multiple wavelength channels, with temporal resolution below 50 ps and dark count rates below 10 Hz. We demonstrate multi-detector devices for telecommunication and visible wavelengths and showcase their performance by imaging silicon vacancy color centers in diamond nanoclusters. The fully integrated hybrid superconducting-nanophotonic circuits enable simultaneous spectroscopy and lifetime mapping for correlative imaging and provide the ingredients for quantum wavelength division multiplexing on a chip.
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Pyatkov, F., Khasminskaya, S., Kovalyuk, V., Hennrich, F., Kappes, M. M., Goltsman, G. N., et al. (2017). Sub-nanosecond light-pulse generation with waveguide-coupled carbon nanotube transducers. Beilstein J. Nanotechnol., 8, 38–44.
Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently been integrated into optical waveguides and operated as electrically-driven light emitters under constant electrical bias. Such devices are of interest for the conversion of fast electrical signals into optical ones within a nanophotonic circuit. Here, we demonstrate that waveguide-integrated single-walled CNTs are promising high-speed transducers for light-pulse generation in the gigahertz range. Using a scalable fabrication approach we realize hybrid CNT-based nanophotonic devices, which generate optical pulse trains in the range from 200 kHz to 2 GHz with decay times below 80 ps. Our results illustrate the potential of CNTs for hybrid optoelectronic systems and nanoscale on-chip light sources.
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Shangina, E. L., Smirnov, K. V., Morozov, D. V., Kovalyuk, V. V., Gol’tsman, G. N., Verevkin, A. A., et al. (2010). Concentration dependence of the intermediate frequency bandwidth of submillimeter heterodyne AlGaAs/GaAs nanostructures. Bull. Russ. Acad. Sci. Phys., 74(1), 100–102.
Abstract: The concentration dependence of the intermediate frequency bandwidth of heterodyne AlGaAs/GaAs detectors with 2D electron gas is measured using submillimeter spectroscopy with high time resolution at T= 4.2 K. The intermediate frequency bandwidth f3dBfalls from 245 to 145 MHz with increasing concentration of 2D electrons n s = (1.6-6.6) × 10[su11] cm-2. The dependence f3dB ≈ n s – 0.04±is observed in the studied concentration range; this dependence is determined by electron scattering by the deformation potential of acoustic phonons and piezoelectric scattering.
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Glejm, A. V., Anisimov, A. A., Asnis, L. N., Vakhtomin, Y. B., Divochiy, A. V., Egorov, V. I., et al. (2014). Quantum key distribution in an optical fiber at distances of up to 200 km and a bit rate of 180 bit/s. Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics, 78(3), 171–175.
Abstract: An experimental demonstration of a subcarrier-wave quantum cryptography system with superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) that distributes a secure key in a single-mode fiber at distance of 25 km with a bit rate of 800 kbit/s, a distance of 100 km with a bit rate of 19 kbit/s, and a distance of 200 km with a bit rate of 0.18 kbit/s is described.
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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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Prokhodtsov, A., Golikov, A., An, P., Kovalyuk, V., Goltsman, G., Arakelyan, S., et al. (2019). Effect of silicon oxide coating on a silicon nitride focusing grating coupler efficiency. In EPJ Web Conf. (Vol. 220, 02009).
Abstract: The dependence of the efficiency of the focusing grating couplers on the period and filling factor before and after deposition of the upper silicon oxide layer was experimentally studied. The obtained data are of practical importance for tunable integrated-optical devices based on silicon nitride platform.
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Elmanov, I., Elmanova, A., Komrakova, S., Golikov, A., Kaurova, N., Kovalyuk, V., et al. (2019). Method for determination of resists parameters for photonic – integrated circuits e-beam lithography on silicon nitride platform. In EPJ Web Conf. (Vol. 220, 03012).
Abstract: In the work the thicknesses of the e-beam resists ZEP 520A and ma-N 2400 by using non-destructive method were measured, as well as recipe for the high ratio between the Si3N4 and the resists etching rate was determined. The work has a practical application for e-beam lithography of photonic-integrated circuits and nanophotonics devices based on silicon nitride platform.
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Elmanova, A., Elmanov, I., Komrakova, S., Golikov, A., Javadzade, J., Vorobyev, V., et al. (2019). Integration of nanodiamonds with NV-centers on optical silicon nitride structures. In EPJ Web Conf. (Vol. 220, 03013).
Abstract: In this work we had developed optical structures from silicon nitride for further integration of the nanodiamonds containing NV-centers with them. We have introduced method of the nanodiamonds solution application on the substrates. The work has practical meaning in nanophotonics sphere and in development of optical devices with single-photon sources.
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Korneev, A., Kovalyuk, V., An, P., Golikov, A., Zubkova, E., Ferrari, S., et al. (2018). Superconducting single-photon detector for integrated waveguide spectrometer. In EPJ Web Conf. (Vol. 190, 04009).
Abstract: We present our recent achievements in the development of an on-chip spectrometer consisting of arrayed waveguide grating made of Si3N4 waveguides and NbN superconducting single-photon detector.
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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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Polyakova, M., Semenov, A. V., Kovalyuk, V., Ferrari, S., Pernice, W. H. P., & Gol'tsman, G. N. (2019). Protocol of measuring hot-spot correlation length for SNSPDs with near-unity detection efficiency. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 29(5), 1–5.
Abstract: We present a simple quantum detector tomography protocol, which allows, without ambiguities, to measure the two-spot detection efficiency and extract the hot-spot interaction length of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) with unity intrinsic detection efficiency. We identify a significant parasitic contribution to the measured two-spot efficiency, related to an effect of the bias circuit, and find a way to rule out this contribution during data post-processing and directly in the experiment. From the data analysis for waveguide-integrated SNSPD, we find signatures of the saturation of the two-spot efficiency and hot-spot interaction length of order of 100 nm.
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