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Chulkova, G., Milostnaya, I., Korneev, A., Minaeva, O., Rubtsova, I., Voronov, B., et al. (2005). Superconducting nanostructures for counting of single photons in the infrared range. In Proc. 2-nd CAOL (Vol. 2, pp. 100–103).
Abstract: We present our studies on ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs are patterned by electron beam lithography from 4-nm thick NbN film into meander-shaped strips covering square area of 10/spl times/10 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The advances in the fabrication technology allowed us to produce highly uniform 100-120-nm-wide strips with meander filling factor close to 0.6. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, an avalanche of excited hot electrons and the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient response across the superconducting nanostrip. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but they have shown that their sensitivity in the infrared radiation range can be significantly improved by lowering the operating temperature from 4.2 K to 2 K. When operated at 2 K, the SSPD quantum efficiency (QE) for visible light photons reaches 30-40%, which is the saturation value limited by optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. For 1.55 /spl mu/m photons, QE was /spl sim/20% and decreases exponentially with the increase of the optical wavelength, but even at the wavelength of 6 /spl mu/m the detector remains sensitive to single photons and exhibits QE of about 10/sup -2/%. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2 /spl times/ 10/sup -4/ s/sup -1/, what makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in the noise equivalent power (NEP) as low as 10/sup -18/ WHz/sup -1/2/ for the mid-infrared range (6 /spl mu/m). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for the other, lower-T/sub c/ superconductors with the narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticle diffusivity. The use of such materials will shift the cutoff wavelength towards the values even longer than 6 /spl mu/m.
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Okunev, O., Chulkova, G., Milostnaya, I., Antipov, A., Smirnov, K., Morozov, D., et al. (2005). Registration of infrared single photons by a two-channel receiver based on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors. In Proc. 2-nd CAOL (Vol. 2, pp. 282–285).
Abstract: Single-photon detectors (SPDs) are the foundation of all quantum communications (QC) protocols. Among different classes of SPDs currently studied, NbN superconducting SPDs (SSPDs) are established as the best devices for ultrafast counting of single photons in the infrared (IR) wavelength range. The SSPDs are nanostructured, 100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ in total area, superconducting meanders, patterned by electron lithography in ultra-thin NbN films. Their operation has been explained within a phenomenological hot-electron photoresponse model. We present the design and performance of a novel, two-channel SPD receiver, based on two fiber-coupled NbN SSPDs. The receivers have been developed for fiber-based QC systems, operational at 1.3 /spl mu/m and 1.55 /spl mu/m telecommunication wavelengths. They operate in the temperature range from 4.2 K to 2 K, in which the NbN SSPDs exhibit their best performance. The receiver unit has been designed as a cryostat insert, placed inside a standard liquid-helium storage dewar. The input of the receiver consists of a pair of single-mode optical fibers, equipped with the standard FC connectors and kept at room temperature. Coupling between the SSPD and the fiber is achieved using a specially designed, precise micromechanical holder that places the fiber directly on top of the SSPD nanostructure. Our receivers achieve the quantum efficiency of up to 7% for near-IR photons, with the coupling efficiency of about 30%. The response time was measured to be <300 ps and it was limited by our read-out electronics. The jitter of fiber-coupled SSPDs is <35 ps and their dark-count rate is below 1 s/sup -1/. The presented performance parameters show that our single-photon receivers are fully applicable for quantum-correlation-type QC systems, including practical quantum cryptography.
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Gol'tsman, G. N., Korneev, A., Rubtsova, I., Milostnaya, I., Chulkova, G., Minaeva, O., et al. (2005). Ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors for near-infrared-wavelength quantum communications. Phys. Stat. Sol. (C), 2(5), 1480–1488.
Abstract: We present our progress on the research and development of NbN superconducting single‐photon detectors (SSPD's) for ultrafast counting of near‐infrared photons for secure quantum communications. Our SSPD's operate in the quantum detection mode based on the photon‐induced hotspot formation and subsequent development of a transient resistive barrier across an ultrathin and submicron‐width superconducting stripe. The devices are fabricated from 4‐nm‐thick NbN films and kept in the 4.2‐ to 2‐K temperature range. The detector experimental quantum efficiency in the photon‐counting mode reaches above 40% for the visible light and up to 30% in the 1.3‐ to 1.55‐µm wavelength range with dark counts below 0.01 per second. The experimental real‐time counting rate is above 2 GHz and is limited by our readout electronics. The SSPD's timing jitter is below 18 ps, and the best‐measured value of the noise‐equivalent power (NEP) is 5 × 10–21 W/Hz1/2 at 1.3 µm. In terms of quantum efficiency, timing jitter, and maximum counting rate, our NbN SSPD's significantly outperform semiconductor avalanche photodiodes and photomultipliers in the 1.3‐ to 1.55‐µm range.
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Zhang, J., Pearlman, A., Slysz, W., Verevkin, A., Sobolewski, R., Wilsher, K., et al. (2003). A superconducting single-photon detector for CMOS IC probing. In Proc. 16-th LEOS (Vol. 2, pp. 602–603).
Abstract: In this paper, a novel, time-resolved, NbN-based, superconducting single-photon detector (SSPD) has been developed for probing CMOS integrated circuits (ICs) using photon emission timing analysis (PETA).
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Hadfield, R. H. (2009). Single-photon detectors for optical quantum information applications. Nature Photonics, 3, 696–705.
Abstract: The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in interest in new single-photon detector technologies. A major cause of this trend has undoubtedly been the push towards optical quantum information applications such as quantum key distribution. These new applications place extreme demands on detector performance that go beyond the capabilities of established single-photon detectors. There has been considerable effort to improve conventional photon-counting detectors and to transform new device concepts into workable technologies for optical quantum information applications. This Review aims to highlight the significant recent progress made in improving single-photon detector technologies, and the impact that these developments will have on quantum optics and quantum information science.
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Флоря, И. Н., Корнеева, Ю. П., Корнеев, А. А., & Гольцман, Г. Н. (2011). Сверхпроводниковый однофотонный детектор для среднего инфракрасного диапазона на основе узких параллельных полосок. Труды МФТИ, 3(2), 14–17.
Abstract: Мы рассматриваем ультрабыстрый сверхпроводниковый однофотонный детектор (SSPD). SSPD представляет собой тонкопленочную наноструктуру — очень узкую и длинную полоску сверхпроводника, изогнутую в виде меандра, изготовленную из пленки NbN толщиной 4 нм, нанесенной на сапфировую подложку. SSPD хорошо сопрягается с оптоволокном и легко может быть интегрирован в полностью готовую для работы приемную систему. В стремлении продвинуться в средний ИК диапозон нам удалось разработать SSPD в виде параллельно соединенных полосок с шириной полоски всего 50 нм и сохранить при этом сверхпроводящие свойства. Эти детекторы показывают более чем на порядок большую чувствительность на длине волны 3;5 мкм, чем SSPD в виде меандра. Полученные результаты открывают путь к эффективным детекторам среднего ИК-диапазона, обладающим скоростью счета свыше 1 ГГц.
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Пентин, И. В., Смирнов, К. В., Вахтомин, Ю. Б., Смирнов, А. В., Ожегов, Р. В., Дивочий, А. В., et al. (2011). Быстродействующий терагерцевый приемник и инфракрасный счетчик одиночных фотонов на эффекте разогрева электронов в сверхпроводниковых тонкопленочных наноструктурах. Труды МФТИ, 3(2), 38–42.
Abstract: Представлены результаты создания приемных систем терагерцевого диапазона (0.3-70 ТГц), обладающих рекордным быстродействием (50 пс) и высокой чувствительностью (до 5x 10^(-14) Вт/Гц^(1/2)), а также однофотонных приемных систем ближнего инфракрасного диапазона с квантовой эффективностью 25 %, уровнем темнового счета 10-1c., максимальной скоростью счета ~ 100 МГц и временным разрешением до 50 пс.
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Pernice, W. H. P., Schuck, C., Minaeva, O., Li, M., Goltsman, G. N., Sergienko, A. V., et al. (2012). High-speed and high-efficiency travelling wave single-photon detectors embedded in nanophotonic circuits. Nat. Commun., 3, 1325 (1 to 10).
Abstract: Ultrafast, high-efficiency single-photon detectors are among the most sought-after elements in modern quantum optics and quantum communication. However, imperfect modal matching and finite photon absorption rates have usually limited their maximum attainable detection efficiency. Here we demonstrate superconducting nanowire detectors atop nanophotonic waveguides, which enable a drastic increase of the absorption length for incoming photons. This allows us to achieve high on-chip single-photon detection efficiency up to 91% at telecom wavelengths, repeatable across several fabricated chips. We also observe remarkably low dark count rates without significant compromise of the on-chip detection efficiency. The detectors are fully embedded in scalable silicon photonic circuits and provide ultrashort timing jitter of 18 ps. Exploiting this high temporal resolution, we demonstrate ballistic photon transport in silicon ring resonators. Our direct implementation of a high-performance single-photon detector on chip overcomes a major barrier in integrated quantum photonics.
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Kahl, O., Ferrari, S., Kovalyuk, V., Goltsman, G. N., Korneev, A., & Pernice, W. H. P. (2015). Waveguide integrated superconducting single-photon detectors with high internal quantum efficiency at telecom wavelengths. Sci. Rep., 5, 10941 (1 to 11).
Abstract: Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) provide high efficiency for detecting individual photons while keeping dark counts and timing jitter minimal. Besides superior detection performance over a broad optical bandwidth, compatibility with an integrated optical platform is a crucial requirement for applications in emerging quantum photonic technologies. Here we present efficiencies close to unity at 1550nm wavelength. This allows for the SNSPDs to be operated at bias currents far below the critical current where unwanted dark count events reach milli-Hz levels while on-chip detection efficiencies above 70% are maintained. The measured dark count rates correspond to noiseequivalent powers in the 10–19W/Hz–1/2 range and the timing jitter is as low as 35ps. Our detectors are fully scalable and interface directly with waveguide-based optical platforms.
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Murphy, A., Semenov, A., Korneev, A., Korneeva, Y., Gol'tsman, G., & Bezryadin, A. (2015). Three temperature regimes in superconducting photon detectors: quantum, thermal and multiple phase-slips as generators of dark counts. Sci. Rep., 5, 10174 (1 to 10).
Abstract: We perform measurements of the switching current distributions of three w approximately 120 nm wide, 4 nm thick NbN superconducting strips which are used for single-photon detectors. These strips are much wider than the diameter of the vortex cores, so they are classified as quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D). We discover evidence of macroscopic quantum tunneling by observing the saturation of the standard deviation of the switching distributions at temperatures around 2 K. We analyze our results using the Kurkijarvi-Garg model and find that the escape temperature also saturates at low temperatures, confirming that at sufficiently low temperatures, macroscopic quantum tunneling is possible in quasi-2D strips and can contribute to dark counts observed in single photon detectors. At the highest temperatures the system enters a multiple phase-slip regime. In this range single phase-slips are unable to produce dark counts and the fluctuations in the switching current are reduced.
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