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Zhang J, Słysz W, Pearlman A, Verevkin A, Sobolewski R, Okunev O, et al. Time delay of resistive-state formation in superconducting stripes excited by single optical photons. Phys Rev B. 2003;67(13):132508 (1 to 4).
Abstract: We have observed a 65(±5)-ps time delay in the onset of a resistive-state formation in 10-nm-thick, 130-nm-wide NbN superconducting stripes exposed to single photons. The delay in the photoresponse decreased to zero when the stripe was irradiated by multi-photon (classical) optical pulses. Our NbN structures were kept at 4.2 K, well below the material’s critical temperature, and were illuminated by 100-fs-wide optical pulses. The time-delay phenomenon has been explained within the framework of a model based on photon-induced generation of a hotspot in the superconducting stripe and subsequent, supercurrent-assisted, resistive-state formation across the entire stripe cross section. The measured time delays in both the single-photon and two-photon detection regimes agree well with theoretical predictions of the resistive-state dynamics in one-dimensional superconducting stripes.
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Verevkin AA, Zhang J, Slysz W, Sobolewski R, Lipatov AP, Okunev O, et al. Superconducting single-photon detectors for GHz-rate free-space quantum communications. In: Ricklin JC, Voelz DG, editors. Proc. SPIE. Vol 4821. SPIE; 2002. p. 447–54.
Abstract: We report our studies on the performance of new NbN ultrathin-film superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs). Our SSPDs exhibit experimentally measured quantum efficiencies from 5% at wavelength λ = 1550 nm up to 10% at λ = 405 nm, with exponential, activation-energy-type spectral sensitivity dependence in the 0.4-μm – 3-μm wavelength range. Using a variable optical delay setup, we have shown that our NbN SSPDs can resolve optical photons with a counting rate up to 10 GHz, presently limited by the read-out electronics. The measured device jitter was below 35 ps under optimum biasing conditions. The extremely high photon counting rate, together with relatively high (especially for λ > 1 μm) quantum efficiency, low jitter, and very low dark counts, make NbN SSPDs very promising for free-space communications and quantum cryptography.
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Okunev O, Smirnov K, Chulkova G, Korneev A, Lipatov A, Gol'tsman G, et al. Ultrafast NBN hot-electron single-photon detectors for electronic applications [abstract]. In: Abstracts 8-th IUMRS-ICEM.; 2002.
Abstract: We present a new, simple to manufacture, single-photon detector (SPD), which can work from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths of optical radiation and combines high speed of operation, high quantum efficiency (QE), and very low dark counts. The devices are superconducting and operate at temperature below 5 K. The physics of operation of our SPD is based on formation of a photon-induced resistive hotspot and subsequent appearance of a transient resistive barrier across an ultrathin and submicron-wide superconductor.
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Lipatov A, Okunev O, Smirnov K, Chulkova G, Korneev A, Kouminov P, et al. An ultrafast NbN hot-electron single-photon detector for electronic applications. Supercond Sci Technol. 2002;15(12):1689–92.
Abstract: We present the latest generation of our superconducting single-photon detector (SPD), which can work from ultraviolet to mid-infrared optical radiation wavelengths. The detector combines a high speed of operation and low jitter with high quantum efficiency (QE) and very low dark count level. The technology enhancement allows us to produce ultrathin (3.5 nm thick) structures that demonstrate QE hundreds of times better, at 1.55 μm, than previous 10 nm thick SPDs. The best, 10 × 10 μm2, SPDs demonstrate QE up to 5% at 1.55 μm and up to 11% at 0.86 μm. The intrinsic detector QE, normalized to the film absorption coefficient, reaches 100% at bias currents above 0.9 Ic for photons with wavelengths shorter than 1.3 μm.
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Verevkin A, Xu Y, Zheng X, Williams C, Sobolewski R, Okunev O, et al. Superconducting NbN-based ultrafast hot-electron single-photon detector for infrared range. In: Proc. 12th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2001. p. 462–8.
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