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arXiv:1805.00130 · Physical Review Applied

Intrinsic Timing Jitter and Latency in Superconducting Nanowire Single-photon Detectors

J.P. Allmaras, A.G. Kozorezov, B.A. Korzh, Karl K. Berggren, Matthew D. Shaw

Published Mar 26, 2019• 66 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The topic of latency in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs, the fastest type of such sensors) is of interest for understanding the absolute limits of timing performance in these devices, but so far no model of the detection mechanism could quantitatively explain recent measurements of intrinsic jitter and latency. This analysis of the connection between detector latency and timing jitter in the presence of Fano fluctuations and spatial nonuniformity provides a framework for studying the intrinsic jitter in SNSPDs, and suggests that intrinsic jitter could be reduced by enhancing scattering to suppress superconductivity as quickly as possible.

DOI
10.1103/physrevapplied.11.034062

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The topic of latency in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs, the fastest type of such sensors) is of interest for understanding the absolute limits of timing performance in these devices, but so far no model of the detection mechanism could quantitatively explain recent measurements of intrinsic jitter and latency. This analysis of the connection between detector latency and timing jitter in the presence of Fano fluctuations and spatial nonuniformity provides a framework for studying the intrinsic jitter in SNSPDs, and suggests that intrinsic jitter could be reduced by enhancing scattering to suppress superconductivity as quickly as possible.
We analyze the origin of the intrinsic timing jitter in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors in terms of fluctuations in the latency of the detector response, which is determined by the microscopic physics of the photon-detection process. We demonstrate that fluctuations in the physical parameters, which determine the latency, give rise to the intrinsic timing jitter. We develop a general description of latency by introducing the explicit time dependence of the internal detection efficiency. By considering the dynamic Fano fluctuations together with static spatial inhomogeneities, we study the details of the connection between latency and timing jitter. We develop both a simple phenomenological model and a more general microscopic model of detector latency and timing jitter based on the solution of the generalized time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations for the 1D hotbelt geometry. While the analytical model is sufficient for qualitative interpretation of recent data, the general approach establishes the framework for a more quantitative analysis of detector latency and the fundamental limits of intrinsic timing jitter. These theoretical advances can be used to interpret the results of recent experiments measuring the dependence of detection latency and timing jitter on photon energy to the few-picosecond level.
Recent progress in the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) has delivered excellent performance and has had a great impact on a range of research fields. The timing jitter, which denotes the temporal resolution of the detection, is a crucial parameter for many applications. Despite extensive work since their apparition, the lowest jitter achievable with SNSPDs is still not clear, and the origin of the intrinsic limits is not fully understood. Understanding its intrinsic behavior and limits is a mandatory step toward improvements. Here, we report our experimental study on the intrinsically-limited timing jitter in molybdenum silicide SNSPDs. We show that to reach intrinsic jitter, crucial properties such as the latching current and the kinetic inductance of the devices have to be understood. The dependence on the nanowire thickness and the energy dependence of the intrinsic jitter are quantified, and the origin of the limits is exhibited. System timing jitter of 6.0 ps at 532 nm and 10.6 ps at 1550 nm photon wavelength has been obtained.
Recent progress in the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) has delivered excellent performance and has had a great impact on a range of research fields. The timing jitter, which denotes the temporal resolution of the detection, is a crucial parameter for many applications. Despite extensive work since their apparition, the lowest jitter achievable with SNSPDs is still not clear, and the origin of the intrinsic limits is not fully understood. Understanding its intrinsic behavior and limits is a mandatory step toward improvements. Here, we report our experimental study on the intrinsically-limited timing jitter in molybdenum silicide SNSPDs. We show that to reach intrinsic jitter, crucial properties such as the latching current and the kinetic inductance of the devices have to be understood. The dependence on the nanowire thickness and the energy dependence of the intrinsic jitter are quantified, and the origin of the limits is exhibited. System timing jitter of 6.0 ps at 532 nm and 10.6 ps at 1550 nm photon wavelength has been obtained.
Low timing jitter is a unique merit of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) for time-correlated applications. Quantitative analysis was performed for the SNSPD system. Aided by an oscilloscope with an optimal signal amplitude, we were able to measure a full width at half-maximum system timing jitter as low as 14.2 ps for a high-switching-current SNSPD using a room-temperature low-noise amplifier. When using a time-correlated single-photon counting module, the system timing jitter was 17.3 ps. The detector's intrinsic timing jitter was estimated at ∼12.0 ps.
The results of this theoretical study are important for applications dealing with superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs), which include quantum information processing. The author shows that the variation in delay time ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{d}$ (timing jitter) of the voltage response after absorption of a single photon, connected to either position-dependent response or variation in the energy deposited to electrons, could be as small as 1 ps when the current in the superconducting strip approaches the depairing current. Reducing this jitter is a main topic of SNSPD research, and understanding the origins of these variations is necessary to that end.