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中国物理B：英文版

Performance of a superconducting single photon detector with nano-antenna

张弨, 焦荣珍

Published Jan 1, 2012• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The performance of single-photon detectors can be enhanced by using nano-antenna.The characteristics of the superconducting nano-wire single-photon detector with cavity plus anti-reflect coating and specially designed nanoantenna is analysed.The photon collection efficiency of the detector is enhanced without damaging the detector’s speed,thus getting rid of the dilemma of speed and efficiency.The characteristics of nano-antenna are discussed,such as the position and the effect of the active area,and the best result is given.The photon collection efficiency is increased by 92 times compared with that of existing detectors.

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The performance of single-photon detectors can be enhanced by using nano-antenna.The characteristics of the superconducting nano-wire single-photon detector with cavity plus anti-reflect coating and specially designed nanoantenna is analysed.The photon collection efficiency of the detector is enhanced without damaging the detector’s speed,thus getting rid of the dilemma of speed and efficiency.The characteristics of nano-antenna are discussed,such as the position and the effect of the active area,and the best result is given.The photon collection efficiency is increased by 92 times compared with that of existing detectors.
The performance of single-photon detectors can be enhanced by using nano-antenna. The characteristics of the superconducting nano-wire single-photon detector with cavity plus anti-reflect coating and specially designed nano-antenna is analysed. The photon collection efficiency of the detector is enhanced without damaging the detector's speed, thus getting rid of the dilemma of speed and efficiency. The characteristics of nano-antenna are discussed, such as the position and the effect of the active area, and the best result is given. The photon collection efficiency is increased by 92 times compared with that of existing detectors.
The performance of superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) involving niobium nitride with the fan coupling antenna array is analyzed. The SNSPD has a high detection efficiency and counting rate. Hydrogen silsesquioxane and niobium nitride are filled in the gold grating deposited on the substrate in which the fan coupling antenna arrays are embedded. By changing the position of the fan coupling antenna array, the maximum area of optical intensity is obtained and the photon collection efficiency is increased by 26.5 times. The detection efficiency of SNSPD is improved without changing the detection speed. These parameters are important for designing a practical single-photon detector.
Optical nano-antennae have been integrated with semiconductor lasers to intensify light at the nanoscale and photodiodes to enhance photocurrent. In quantum optics, plasmonic metal structures have been used to enhance nonclassical light emission from single quantum dots. Absorption and detection of single photons from free space could also be enhanced by nanometallic antennae, but this has not previously been demonstrated. Here, we use nano-optical transmission effects in a one-dimensional gold structure, combined with optical cavity resonance, to form optical nano-antennae, which are further used to couple single photons from free space into a 80-nm-wide superconducting nanowire. This antenna-assisted coupling enables a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with 47% device efficiency at the wavelength of 1550 nm and 9-μm-by-9-μm active area while maintaining a reset time of only 5 ns. We demonstrate nanoscale antenna-like structures to achieve exceptional efficiency and speed in single-photon detection.
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.
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) are a rapidly maturing detector technology that offer superior performance relative to competing infrared photon counting technologies. The original experimental work presented here explores three novel methods of improving and analysing detector characteristics, employing low-temperature piezoelectric motors at temperatures below 4 K in a closed-cycle cryostat. Utilizing the low-temperature piezoelectric nanopositioners in tandem with a miniature confocal microscope, this work specifically shows a spatially-separable parallel-wire SNSPD demonstrating one- and two-pixel photon discrimination, with the detector responding more quickly when triggering two pixels. The work demonstrates nanoantenna-coupled SNSPDs, which are simulated, designed, and tested using the same nano-optical setup. In these an increased local absorption into the nanowire is seen at the antennas' resonant wavelengths, enhancing the efficiency of the detector by up to 130 %. Finally, a modified optical setup using a distributed Bragg reflector fibre in place of the microscope to form a tunable cavity around two configurations of SNSPD is demonstrated, improving absorption of the incident light into the nanowire across the whole active area. For these, enhancement in the system detection efficiency of up to 40 % is seen.
We have fabricated and tested superconducting single-photon detectors and demonstrated detection efficiencies of 57% at 1550-nm wavelength and 67% at 1064 nm. In addition to the peak detection efficiency, a median detection efficiency of 47.7% was measured over 132 devices at 1550 nm. These measurements were made at 1.8K, with each device biased to 97.5% of its critical current. The high detection efficiencies resulted from the addition of an optical cavity and anti-reflection coating to a nanowire photodetector, creating an integrated nanoelectrophotonic device with enhanced performance relative to the original device. Here, the testing apparatus and the fabrication process are presented. The detection efficiency of devices before and after the addition of optical elements is also reported.