Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector
The superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD or SSPD) is a type of
As of 2023, a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector is the fastest single-photon detector (SPD) for photon counting.[8][9][10] It is a key enabling technology for quantum optics and optical quantum technologies. SNSPDs are available with very high detection efficiency, very low dark count rate and very low timing jitter, compared to other types of single-photon detectors. SNSPDs are covered by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) international standards.[11] As of 2023, commercial SNSPD devices are available in multichannel systems in a price range of 100,000 euros.
It was recently discovered that superconducting wires as wide as 1.5 µm can detect single infra-red photons.[12][13][14] This is important because optical lithography rather than electron lithography can be used in their construction. This reduces the cost for applications that require large photodetector areas. One application is in dark matter detection experiments, where the target is a scintillating GaAs crystal. GaAs suitably doped with silicon and boron is a luminous cryogenic scintillator that has no apparent afterglow and is available commercially in the form of large, high-quality crystals.[15][16][17]
Principle of operation
The SNSPD consists of a thin (≈ 5 nm) and narrow (≈ 100 nm)
While the SNSPD does not match the intrinsic energy or photon-number resolution of the superconducting
The absorption in the superconducting nanowire can be boosted by a variety of strategies: integration with an optical cavity,[24] integration with a photonic waveguide[25] or addition of nanoantenna structures.[26] SNSPD cavity devices in NbN, NbTiN, WSi & MoSi have demonstrated fibre-coupled device detection efficiencies greater than 98% at 1550 nm wavelength[27] with count rates in the tens of MHz.[28] The detection efficiencies are optimized for a specific wavelength range in each detector. They vary widely, however, due to highly localized regions of the nanowires where the effective cross-sectional area for superconducting current is reduced.[29] SNSPD devices have also demonstrated exceptionally low jitter – the uncertainty in the photon arrival time – as low as 3 picoseconds at visible wavelengths.[30][31] Timing jitter increases as photon energy drops and has been verified out to 3.5 micrometres wavelength.[32] Timing jitter is an extremely important property for time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC)[33] applications. Furthermore, SNSPDs have extremely low rates of dark counts, i.e. the occurrence of voltage pulses in the absence of a detected photon.[34] In addition, the deadtime (time interval following a detection event during which the detector is not sensitive) is on the order of a few nanoseconds, this short deadtime translates into very high saturation count rates and enables antibunching measurements with a single detector.[35]
For the detection of longer wavelength photons, however, the detection efficiency of standard SNSPDs decreases significantly.
There is considerable interest and effort in scaling up SNSPDs to large multipixel arrays and cameras.[51][52] A kilopixel SNSPD array has recently been reported.[53] A key challenge is readout,[54] which can be addressed via multiplexing[55][56] or digital readout using superconducting single flux quantum logic.[57]
Applications
Many of the initial application demonstrations of SNSPDs have been in the area of
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