Records |
Author |
Okunev, O.; Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Antipov, A.; Smirnov, K.; Morozov, D.; Korneev, A.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Slysz, W.; Wegrzecki, M.; Bar, J.; Grabiec, P.; Górska, M.; Pearlman, A.; Cross, A.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Sobolewski, R. |
Title |
Registration of infrared single photons by a two-channel receiver based on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
Volume |
7009 |
Issue |
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Pages |
70090V (1 to 8) |
Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detectors, superconductors, superconducting nanost |
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 μm2 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 μm and 1.55 μm 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-heliumstorage 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 < 1.5 ns 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 1s-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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SPIE |
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Editor |
Sukhoivanov, I.A.; Svich, V.A.; Shmaliy, Y.S. |
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Call Number |
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Serial |
1413 |
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Author |
Zhang, W.; Li, N.; Jiang, L.; Ren, Y.; Yao, Q.-J.; Lin, Z.-H.; Shi, S.-C.; Voronov, B. M.; Gol’tsman, G. N. |
Title |
Dependence of noise temperature of quasi-optical superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers on bath temperature and optical-axis displacement |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
Volume |
6840 |
Issue |
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Pages |
684007 (1 to 8) |
Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers, noise temperature, LO power |
Abstract |
It is known that the increase of bath temperature results in the decrease of critical current of superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers owing to the depression of superconductivity, thus leading to the degradation of the mixer’s sensitivity. Here we report our study on the effect of bath temperature on the heterodyne mixing performance of quasi-optical superconducting NbN HEB mixers incorporated with a two-arm log-spiral antenna. The correlation between the bath temperature, critical current, LO power requirement and noise temperature is investigated at 0.5 THz. Furthermore, the heterodyne mixing performance of quasi-optical superconducting NbN HEB mixers is examined while there is an optical-axis displacement between the center of the extended hemispherical silicon lens and the superconducting NbN HEB device, which is placed on the back of the lens. Detailed experimental results and analysis are presented. |
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Spie |
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Editor |
Zhang, C.; Zhang, X.-C. |
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Terahertz Photonics |
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Call Number |
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Serial |
1415 |
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Author |
Slysz, W.; Wegrzecki, M.; Bar, J.; Grabiec, P.; Gorska, M.; Rieger, E.; Dorenbos, P.; Zwiller, V.; Milostnaya, I.; Minaeva, O.; Antipov, A.; Okunev, O.; Korneev, A.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Kaurova, N.; Gol’tsman, G.N.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Pan, D.; Pearlman, A.; Cross, A.; Komissarov, I.; Sobolewski, R. |
Title |
Fiber-coupled NbN superconducting single-photon detectors for quantum correlation measurements |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
Volume |
6583 |
Issue |
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Pages |
65830J (1 to 11) |
Keywords |
NbN SSPD, SNSPD, superconducting single-photon detectors, single-photon detectors, fiber-coupled optical detectors, quantum correlations, superconducting devices |
Abstract |
We have fabricated fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs), designed for quantum-correlationtype experiments. The SSPDs are nanostructured ( 100-nm wide and 4-nm thick) NbN superconducting meandering stripes, operated in the 2 to 4.2 K temperature range, and known for ultrafast and efficient detection of visible to nearinfrared photons with almost negligible dark counts. Our latest devices are pigtailed structures with coupling between the SSPD structure and a single-mode optical fiber achieved using a micromechanical photoresist ring placed directly over the meander. The above arrangement withstands repetitive thermal cycling between liquid helium and room temperature, and we can reach the coupling efficiency of up to 33%. The system quantum efficiency, measured as the ratio of the photons counted by SSPD to the total number of photons coupled into the fiber, in our early devices was found to be around 0.3 % and 1% for 1.55 &mgr;m and 0.9 &mgr;m photon wavelengths, respectively. The photon counting rate exceeded 250 MHz. The receiver with two SSPDs, each individually biased, was placed inside a transport, 60-liter liquid helium Dewar, assuring uninterrupted operation for over 2 months. Since the receiver’s optical and electrical connections are at room temperature, the set-up is suitable for any applications, where single-photon counting capability and fast count rates are desired. In our case, it was implemented for photon correlation experiments. The receiver response time, measured as a second-order photon cross-correlation function, was found to be below 400 ps, with timing jitter of less than 40 ps. |
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Spie |
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Dusek, M.; Hillery, M.S.; Schleich, W.P.; Prochazka, I.; Migdall, A.L.; Pauchard, A. |
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Photon Counting Applications, Quantum Optics, and Quantum Cryptography |
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Serial |
1431 |
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Author |
Ryabchun, S.; Tong, C.-yu E.; Blundell, R.; Kimberk, R.; Gol’tsman, G. |
Title |
Effect of microwave radiation on the stability of terahertz hot-electron bolometer mixers |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
Volume |
6373 |
Issue |
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Pages |
63730J (1 to 5) |
Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers, hot-electron bolometer mixers, stability, Allan variance, LO power fluctuations |
Abstract |
We report our studies of the effect of microwave radiation, with a frequency much lower than that corresponding to the energy gap of the superconductor, on the performance of the NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer incorporated into a THz heterodyne receiver. It is shown that exposing the HEB mixer to microwave radiation does not result in a significant rise of the receiver noise temperature and degradation of the mixer conversion gain so long as the level of microwave power is small compared to the local oscillator drive. Hence the injection of a small, but controlled amount of microwave radiation enables active compensation of local oscillator power and coupling fluctuations which can significantly degrade the stability of HEB mixer receivers. |
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SPIE |
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Anwar, M.; DeMaria, A.J.; Shur, M.S. |
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Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems |
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no |
Call Number |
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Serial |
1441 |
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Author |
Milostnaya, I.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Slepneva, S.; Seleznev, V.; Chulkova, G.; Okunev, O.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Slysz, W.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, R. |
Title |
Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single photon counting of mid-infrared optical radiation |
Type |
Conference Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
Volume |
5957 |
Issue |
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Pages |
59570A (1 to 9) |
Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detectors, superconductors, superconducting |
Abstract |
We report on our progress in research and development of ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs were made of the 4-nm-thick NbN films with Tc 11 K, patterned as meander-shaped, 100-nm-wide strips, and covering an area of 10×10 μm2. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, a hotspot of excited electrons and redistribution of the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient signal across the superconducting nanostripe. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but 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 the optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. With the wavelength increase of the incident photons,the QE of SSPDs decreases significantly, but even at the wavelength of 6 μm, the detector is able to count single photons and exhibits QE of about 10-2 %. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2x10-4 s,-1 which makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in a noise equivalent power (NEP) below 10-18 WHz-1/2 for the mid-infrared range (6 μm). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for another, lower-Tc materials with a narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticles diffusivity. The use of such superconductors should shift the cutoff wavelength below 10 μm. |
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SPIE |
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Rogalski, A.; Dereniak, E.L.; Sizov, F.F. |
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Infrared Photoelectronics |
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Call Number |
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1458 |
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