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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. |
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Title |
Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single photon counting of mid-infrared optical radiation |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
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Volume |
5957 |
Issue |
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Pages |
59570A (1 to 9) |
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Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detectors, superconductors, superconducting |
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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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1458 |
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Author |
Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Voronov, B.; Okunev, O.; Smirnov, K.; Gol’tsman, G.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, R.; Slysz, W. |
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Title |
Superconducting nanostructures for counting of single photons in the infrared range |
Type |
Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
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Volume |
2 |
Issue |
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Pages |
100-103 |
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Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD |
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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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Second International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers |
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1461 |
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Korneev, A.; Matvienko, V.; Minaeva, O.; Milostnaya, I.; Rubtsova, I.; Chulkova, G.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, V.; Gol’tsman, G.; Slysz, W.; Pearlman, A.; Verevkin, A.; Sobolewski, R. |
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Title |
Quantum efficiency and noise equivalent power of nanostructured, NbN, single-photon detectors in the wavelength range from visible to infrared |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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15 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
571-574 |
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Keywords |
NbN SSPD, SNSPD, QE, NEP |
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Abstract |
We present our studies on the quantum efficiency (QE) and the noise equivalent power (NEP) of the latest-generation, nanostructured, superconducting, single-photon detectors (SSPDs) in the wavelength range from 0.5 to 5.6 /spl mu/m, operated at temperatures in the 2.0- to 4.2-K range. Our detectors are designed as 4-nm-thick and 100-nm-wide NbN meander-shaped stripes, patterned by electron-beam lithography and cover a 10/spl times/10-/spl mu/m/sup 2/ active area. The best-achieved QE at 2.0 K for 1.55-/spl mu/m photons is 17%, and QE for 1.3-/spl mu/m infrared photons reaches its saturation value of /spl sim/30%. The SSPD NEP at 2.0 K is as low as 5/spl times/10/sup -21/ W/Hz/sup -1/2/. Our nanostructured SSPDs, operated at 2.0 K, significantly outperform their semiconducting counterparts, and, together with their GHz counting rate and picosecond timing jitter, they are devices-of-choice for practical quantum key distribution systems and free-space (even interplanetary) quantum optical communications. |
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1558-2515 |
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1467 |
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Gol'tsman, G.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Milostnaya, I.; Chulkova, G.; Voronov, B.; Smirnov, K.; Seleznev, V.; Słysz, W.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, Roman |
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Title |
Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single-photon counting in the THz range |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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555-557 |
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Keywords |
NbN SSPD, SNSPD |
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We present the results of the NbN superconducting single-photon detector sensitivity measurement in the visible to mid-IR range. For visible and near IR light (0.56 — 1.3μm wavelengths) the detector exhibits 30% quantum efficiency saturation value limited by the NbN film absorption and extremely low level of dark counts (2x10 -4 s -1). The detector manifested single-photon counting up to 6 μm wavelength with the quantum efficiency reaching 10 -2 % at 5.6 μm and 3 K temperature. |
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1476 |
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Author |
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. |
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Title |
Advanced nanostructured optical NbN single-photon detector operated at 2.0 K |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
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Volume |
5732 |
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520-529 |
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Keywords |
NbN SSPD, SNSPD |
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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. |
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Spie |
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Razeghi, M.; Brown, G.J. |
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Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices II |
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1478 |
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