Smirnov, K. V., Vakhtomin, Y. B., Divochiy, A. V., Ozhegov, R. V., Pentin, I. V., Slivinskaya, E. V., et al. (2009). Single-photon detectors for the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum based on NbN nanostructures. In Proc. Progress In Electromagnetics Research Symp. (pp. 863–864). Moscow, Russia.
Abstract: The research by the group of Moscow State Pedagogical University into the hot-electron phenomena in thin superconducting films has led to the development of new types ofdetectors [1, 2] and their use both in fundamental and applied studies [3–6]. In this paper, wepresent the results of the development and fabrication of receiving systems for the visible andinfrared parts of the spectrum optimised for use in telecommunication systems and quantumcryptography.
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McCarthy, A., Krichel, N. J., Gemmell, N. R., Ren, X., Tanner, M. G., Dorenbos, S. N., et al. (2013). Kilometer-range, high resolution depth imaging via 1560 nm wavelength single-photon detection. Opt. Express, 21(7), 8904–8915.
Abstract: This paper highlights a significant advance in time-of-flight depth imaging: by using a scanning transceiver which incorporated a free-running, low noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detector, we were able to obtain centimeter resolution depth images of low-signature objects in daylight at stand-off distances of the order of one kilometer at the relatively eye-safe wavelength of 1560 nm. The detector used had an efficiency of 18% at 1 kHz dark count rate, and the overall system jitter was ~100 ps. The depth images were acquired by illuminating the scene with an optical output power level of less than 250 µW average, and using per-pixel dwell times in the millisecond regime.
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Shcheslavskiy, V., Morozov, P., Divochiy, A., Vakhtomin, Y., Smirnov, K., & Becker, W. (2016). Ultrafast time measurements by time-correlated single photon counting coupled with superconducting single photon detector. Rev. Sci. Instrum., 87, 053117 (1 to 5).
Abstract: Time resolution is one of the main characteristics of the single photon detectors besides quantum efficiency and dark count rate. We demonstrate here an ultrafast time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) setup consisting of a newly developed single photon counting board SPC-150NX and a superconducting NbN single photon detector with a sensitive area of 7 × 7 μm. The combination delivers a record instrument response function with a full width at half maximum of 17.8 ps and system quantum efficiency ~5% at wavelength of 1560 nm. A calculation of the root mean square value of the timing jitter for channels with counts more than 1% of the peak value yielded about 7.6 ps. The setup has also good timing stability of the detector–TCSPC board.
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Gupta, D., & Kadin, A. M. (1999). Single-photon-counting hotspot detector with integrated RSFQ readout electronics. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 9(2), 4487–4490.
Abstract: Absorption of an infrared photon in an ultrathin film (such as 10-nm NbN) creates a localized nonequilibrium hotspot on the submicron length scale and sub-ns time scale. If a strip /spl sim/1 /spl mu/m wide is biased in the middle of the superconducting transition, this hotspot will lead to a resistance pulse with amplitude proportional to the energy of the incident photon. This resistance pulse, in turn, can be converted to a current pulse and inductively coupled to a SQUID amplifier with a digitized output, operating at 4 K or above. A preliminary design analysis indicates that this data can be processed on-chip, using ultrafast RSFQ digital circuits, to obtain a sensitive infrared detector for wavelengths up to 10 /spl mu/m and beyond, with bandwidth of 1 GHz, that counts individual photons and measures their energy with 25 meV resolution. This proposed device combines the speed of a hot-electron bolometer with the single-photon-counting ability of a transition-edge microcalorimeter, to obtain an infrared detector with sensitivity, speed, and spectral selectivity that are unmatched by any alternative technology.
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Steudle, G. A., Schietinger, S., Höckel, D., Dorenbos, S. N., Zadeh, I. E., Zwiller, V., et al. (2012). Measuring the quantum nature of light with a single source and a single detector. Phys. Rev. A, 86(5), 053814.
Abstract: An elementary experiment in optics consists of a light source and a detector. Yet, if the source generates nonclassical correlations such an experiment is capable of unambiguously demonstrating the quantum nature of light. We realized such an experiment with a defect center in diamond and a superconducting detector. Previous experiments relied on more complex setups, such as the Hanbury Brown and Twiss configuration, where a beam splitter directs light to two photodetectors, creating the false impression that the beam splitter is a fundamentally required element. As an additional benefit, our results provide a simplification of the widely used photon-correlation techniques.
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