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Author (up) Goltsman, G.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Lipatov, A. P.; Pearlman, A. J.; Cross, A.; Slysz, W.; Verevkin, A. A.; Sobolewski, R.
Title Advanced nanostructured optical NbN single-photon detector operated at 2.0 K Type Conference Article
Year 2005 Publication Proc. SPIE Abbreviated Journal Proc. SPIE
Volume 5732 Issue Pages 520-529
Keywords NbN SSPD, SNSPD
Abstract We present our studies on quantum efficiency (QE), dark counts, and noise equivalent power (NEP) of the latest generation of nanostructured NbN superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) operated at 2.0 K. Our SSPDs are based on 4 nm-thick NbN films, patterned by electron beam lithography as highly-uniform 100÷120-nm-wide meander-shaped stripes, covering the total area of 10x10 μm2 with the meander filling factor of 0.7. Advances in the fabrication process and low-temperature operation lead to QE as high as  30-40% for visible-light photons (0.56 μm wavelength)-the saturation value, limited by optical absorption of the NbN film. For 1.55 μm photons, QE was  20% and decreased exponentially with the wavelength reaching  0.02% at the 5-μm wavelength. Being operated at 2.0-K temperature the SSPDs revealed an exponential decrease of the dark count rate, what along with the high QE, resulted in the NEP as low as 5x10-21 W/Hz-1/2, the lowest value ever reported for near-infrared optical detectors. The SSPD counting rate was measured to be above 1 GHz with the pulse-to-pulse jitter below 20 ps. Our nanostructured NbN SSPDs operated at 2.0 K significantly outperform their semiconducting counterparts and find practical applications ranging from noninvasive testing of CMOS VLSI integrated circuits to ultrafast quantum communications and quantum cryptography.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Spie Place of Publication Editor Razeghi, M.; Brown, G.J.
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices II
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1478
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Author (up) Verevkin, A. A.; Zhang, J.; Slysz, W.; Sobolewski, R.; Lipatov, A. P.; Okunev, O.; Chulkova, G.; Korneev, A.; Gol’tsman, G. N.
Title Superconducting single-photon detectors for GHz-rate free-space quantum communications Type Conference Article
Year 2002 Publication Proc. SPIE Abbreviated Journal Proc. SPIE
Volume 4821 Issue Pages 447-454
Keywords NbN SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detector, thin-film superconductivity, quantum cryptography, ultrafast communications
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.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher SPIE Place of Publication Editor Ricklin, J.C.; Voelz, D.G.
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference Free-Space Laser Communication and Laser Imaging II
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1523
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