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arXiv:0901.3913 · IEEE Toronto International Conference Science and Technology for Humanity

Mapping of the quantum efficiency of a superconducting single electron detector

Adrian Lupaşcu, Andreas Emmert, M. Brune, Gilles Nogues, Michaël Rosticher, J. P. Maneval, F. R. Ladan, Jean-Claude Villégier

Published Sep 1, 2009• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Superconducting NbN wires have recently received attention as detectors for visible and infrared photons [1]. We present experiments in which we use a NbN wire for high-efficiency (≃ 40%) detection of single electrons with keV energy. We use the beam of a scanning electron microscope as a focussed, stable, and calibrated electron source. Scanning the beam over the surface of the wire provides a map of the detection efficiency. This map shows features as small as 150 nm, revealing wire inhomogeneities. The intrinsic resolution of this mapping method, superior to optical methods, provides the basis of a characterization tool relevant for photon detectors.

DOI
10.1109/tic-sth.2009.5444534

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Superconducting NbN wires have recently received attention as detectors for visible and infrared photons [1]. We present experiments in which we use a NbN wire for high-efficiency (≃ 40%) detection of single electrons with keV energy. We use the beam of a scanning electron microscope as a focussed, stable, and calibrated electron source. Scanning the beam over the surface of the wire provides a map of the detection efficiency. This map shows features as small as 150 nm, revealing wire inhomogeneities. The intrinsic resolution of this mapping method, superior to optical methods, provides the basis of a characterization tool relevant for photon detectors.
Thin superconducting wires can be engineered as efficient end fast detectors for single photons. They are therefore promising tools for telecommunications or quantum information processing. We wants to extend the ideas on single photon superconducting detectors to the case of single electrons. Our goal is to integrate these devices on atom-chips in order to detect trapped Rydberg atoms that can be easily ionized. We have designed simple NbN wire detectors and developped a complete setup for caracterizing our samples under a cryogenic scanning electron microscop. The detectors are fabricated by e-beam lithography on a NbN layer sputtered on a MgO wafer. Our test samples are cooled down to 8 K under the column of a conventionnal SEM whose electronic beam current and energy are precisely controlled. The use of a focused electron beam, smaller than the wire dimensions, gives access to local properties of the detector. We are able to make a complete map of the detection efficiency over the whole wire. We observe local inhomogeneities like white (high efficiency) or dark (no detection at all) areas. Systematic studies of the efficiency as a function of the bias current in the wire or the electron beam energy were carried out.
We report the detection of single electrons using a Nb0.7Ti0.3N superconducting wire deposited on an oxidized silicon substrate. While it is known that this device is sensitive to single photons, we show that it also detects single electrons with kilo-electron-volt energy emitted from the cathode of a scanning electron microscope with an efficiency approaching unity. The electron and photon detection efficiency map of the same device are in good agreement. We also observe detection events outside the active area of the device, which we attribute to sensitivity to backscattered electrons.
We evaluate experimentally the intrinsic detection efficiency (IDE) of superconducting NbN nanowire single-photon detectors in the range of wire thicknesses from 4 to 12 nm. The study is performed in the broad spectral interval between near-ultraviolet (wavelength 400 nm) and near-infrared (wavelength 2000 nm) light with plane waves at normal incidence. For visible light the IDE of the thinnest detectors reaches 70%. We use numerically computed absorptance of the nanowire-structures for the analysis of the experimental data. Variations in the detection efficiency with both the wire thickness and the wavelength evidence the red boundary of the hot-spot photon-detection mechanism. We explain the detection at larger wavelengths invoking thermal excitation of magnetic Pearl vortices over the potential barrier at the edges of the wire.
Superconducting single photon detectors consist of a narrow and thin wire of superconductor and can detect single photons with high efficiency and high speed. Simultaneous optimization of the detection efficiency and detector response time is difficult because the response time is set by the dimensions of the wire (cross section and length) while the detection efficiency is determined by both the internal detection mechanism and the dimensions of the wire. Wider and shorter wires are easier to fabricate, are more robust and lead to shorter detector reset time, but are generally less efficient. Experiments employing detector tomography provide important insights into the photon detection mechanism and indicate a detection mechanism where the edges of the wire are more efficient. This leads to a position dependent local detection efficiency that can be explained in the context of a photon-assisted-vortex-entry model and predicts an optimum wire width ~70 nm. A 50 nm wide silicon nanowire deposited on top of a 150 nm wide NbN nanowire directs light at 1550 nm wavelength to the edges and improves both the total absorption efficiency and the internal detection efficiency of the wire. The total absorption efficiency can be enhanced by 30% while the internal detection efficiency is increased by 70%. Assuming that the wire covers a similar area the detector response time is reduced 4-fold compared to the standard design using a 70 nm wide wire.
We report on the fabrication and characterization of high performance nanowire superconducting single photon detectors (SSPD) on MgO substrates. The deposition of the superconducting material (NbN) has been performed by magnetron sputtering at 400°C. This deposition temperature is low enough to be compatible with the fabrication on traditional optical materials like GaAs. First, SSPD meanders covering a surface of 5 × 5 µm2 were characterized. We measured quantum efficiencies up to 20% at 1300 nm. Then, we used a straight 250 µm-long NbN nanowire to perform a spatially resolved measurement of the efficiency. Both efficiency dips and peaks were observed. The dips were correlated to lithographic defects, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Conversely, no evidence of a lithographic origin of efficiency peaks was found.
Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) consist of a superconducting wire of nanoscale cross-section [1], typically 4×100 nm2. A current close to the device critical current renders the nanowire sensitive to single photons. SSPDs are known for their high efficiency, low jitter, low dark count rate and fast reset time. An important challenge for future application of SSPDs is to extend the useful wavelength range towards the infrared without comprising detector speed or dark count rate. To this end, we explore optical designs with wider nanowires that utilize efficient detection of single photons at the edge of the nanowire. Silicon nanowires on top of a NbN nanowire increase both the calculated total absorption and the internal detection efficiency significantly compared to a standard meandering wire geometry.