Abstract: We report on our progress in development of superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs), specifically designed for secure high-speed quantum communications. The SSPDs consist of NbN-based meander nanostructures and operate at liquid helium temperatures. In general, our devices are capable of GHz-rate photon counting in a spectral range from visible light to mid-infrared. The device jitter is 18 ps and dark counts can reach negligibly small levels. The quantum efficiency (QE) of our best SSPDs for visible-light photons approaches a saturation level of ~30-40%, which is limited by the NbN film absorption. For the infrared range (1.55µm), QE is ~6% at 4.2 K, but it can be significantly improved by reduction of the operation temperature to the 2-K level, when QE reaches ~20% for 1.55-µm photons. In order to further enhance the SSPD efficiency at the wavelength of 1.55 µm, we have integrated our detectors with optical cavities, aiming to increase the effective interaction of the photon with the superconducting meander and, therefore, increase the QE. A successful effort was made to fabricate an advanced SSPD structure with an optical microcavity optimized for absorption of 1.55 µm photons. The design consisted of a quarter-wave dielectric layer, combined with a metallic mirror. Early tests performed on relatively low-QE devices integrated with microcavities, showed that the QE value at the resonator maximum (1.55-µm wavelength) was of the factor 3-to-4 higher than that for a nonresonant SSPD. Independently, we have successfully coupled our SSPDs to single-mode optical fibers. The completed receivers, inserted into a liquid-helium transport dewar, reached ~1% system QE for 1.55 µm photons. The SSPD receivers that are fiber-coupled and, simultaneously, integrated with resonators are expected to be the ultimate photon counters for optical quantum communications.

Abstract: We optimized NbN films on a Si substrate with a buffer SiO2 layer to produce superconducting microstrip single-photon detectors with saturated dependence of quantum efficiency (QE) versus normalized bias current. We varied thickness of films and observed the maximum QE saturation for device based on the thinner film with the lowest ratio RS300/RS20.

Abstract: Picosecond nonequilibrium and slow bolometric responses to infrared radiation from a patterned high-T c superconducting (HTS) film in resistive and normal states deposited onto LaAlO3, NdGaO3, and MgO substrates were investigated using both pulse and modulation techniques. The response time of 35 ps to a laser pulse of 17 ps FWHM has been observed. The intrinsic response time of the fast process is expected to be about a few picoseconds. The modulation technique, being free from the disadvantages of pulse methods (poor sensitivity, limited dynamic range), makes the detailed study of a number of relaxation processes possible. Besides the nonequilibrium response, two kinds of bolometric processes, namely phonon transport through the film-substrate interface and phonon thermal diffusion in a substrate, manifest themselves in certain frequency dependences.

Abstract: The thermal boundary resistance at the YBaCuO thin film/Al2O3 substrate interface was investigated. The transparency for thermal phonons incident on the interface as well as for phonons moving from the substrate was determined. We have measured a transient voltage response of current-biased films to continuously modulated radiation. The observed knee in the modulation frequency dependence of the response reflects the crossover from the diffusion regime to the contact resistance regime of the heat transfer across the interface. The values of transparency were independently deduced both from the phonon escape time and from the time of phonon return to the film which were identified with peculiarities in the frequency dependence. The results are much more consistent with the acoustic mismatch theory than the diffuse mismatch model.

Abstract: The temperature dependence of the resistivity of Nb thin films has been studied at T=4.2-300 K. It has been shown that quantum interference between electron-phonon and electron-impurity scattering determines the temperature dependence of the resistivity of the films investigated over a broad temperature range. The magnitude of the contribution of the electron-phonon-impurity,interference is described satisfactorily by the theory developed by Reizer and Sergeev {Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 92,2291 (1987) [Sov. Phys. JETP 65, 1291 (1987)l). The interaction constants of electrons with longitudinal and transverse phonons in Nb films have been determined for the first time by comparing the experimental data with the theory. The values of the constants obtained are consistent with the data on the inelastic electron-phonon scattering times in the films investigated. The contribution of the transverse phonons is dominant both in the interference correction to the resistivity and in the electron energy relaxation.