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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Photon-number resolving and distribution verification using a multichannel superconducting nanowire single-photon detection system

Dengkuan Liu, Lixing You, Yuhao He, Chaolin Lv, Sijing Chen, Ling Zhang, Zhen Wang, Xiaoming Xie

Published Mar 13, 2014• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Photon-number-resolving (PNR) detection is a prerequisite for many important quantum optics applications. By using a four-channel superconducting nanowire single-photon detection system incorporating the photon multiport network technique, PNR detection of up to four photons was realized. The amplitude of the output pulse is proportional to the detected photon number. Using two channels of the system, the Poisson distribution of photon number in the faint pulsed laser was verified. The theoretical counts of the two-photon response were analyzed as a function of the mean photon number per pulse. The measurement results matched well with the theoretical calculations according to the Poisson distribution.

DOI
10.1364/josab.31.000816

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Photon-number-resolving (PNR) detection is a prerequisite for many important quantum optics applications. By using a four-channel superconducting nanowire single-photon detection system incorporating the photon multiport network technique, PNR detection of up to four photons was realized. The amplitude of the output pulse is proportional to the detected photon number. Using two channels of the system, the Poisson distribution of photon number in the faint pulsed laser was verified. The theoretical counts of the two-photon response were analyzed as a function of the mean photon number per pulse. The measurement results matched well with the theoretical calculations according to the Poisson distribution.
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Photon-number-resolving (PNR) is an important functionality in many applications. The traditional single photon detectors (SNSPDs) operated with the conventional readout scheme does not have the PNR functionality. In this paper, we demonstrate a superconducting photon-number-resolving detector operating at the visible wavelength regime, based on the serial connection of six superconducting nanowires. The results of our 6-element PNR device show clear evidence of n-photons differentiation with n ranging from 1 to 6. The system detection efficiency reaches 54% with the dark counts rate below 10 Hz at 660 nm. The demonstrated 6-element PNR device does not require a complex readout circuit compared with the SNSPD array device, and is expected to have wider applications in addition to imaging and communication.
Photon-number resolving (PNR) single-photon detectors are of interest for a wide range of applications in the emerging field of photon-based quantum technologies. Especially photonic integrated circuits will pave the way for a high complexity and ease of use of quantum photonics. Superconducting nanowire singlephoton detectors (SNSPDs) are of special interest since they combine a high detection efficiency and a high timing accuracy with a high count rate and they can be configured as PNR-SNSPDs. Here, we present a PNR-SNSPD with a four photon resolution suitable for waveguide integration operating at a temperature of 4 K. A high statistical accuracy for the photon number is achieved for a Poissonian light source at a photon flux below 5 photons/pulse with a detection efficiency of 22.7 ± 3 % at 900 nm and a pulse rate frequency of 76 MHz. We demonstrate the ability of such a detector to discriminate a sub-Poissonian from a Poissonian light source.
Photon-number resolving (PNR) single-photon detectors are of interest for a wide range of applications in the emerging field of photon based quantum technologies. Especially photonic integrated circuits will pave the way for a high complexity and ease of use of quantum photonics. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are of special interest since they combine a high detection efficiency and a high timing accuracy with a high count rate and they can be configured as PNR-SNSPDs. Here, we present a PNR-SNSPD with a four photon resolution suitable for waveguide integration. A high statistical accuracy for the photon number is achieved for a Poissonian light source at photon flux below \num{5} photons/pulse with a detection efficiency of 22.7$\pm$3.0 % at 900 nm and pulse rate frequency of 76 MHz. We demonstrate the ability of such a detector to discriminate a sub-Poissonian from a Poissonian light source. This demonstration shows the practical benefit of using a PNR detector in a quantum photonic circuit.
Sequentially connected superconducting nanowires, such as nanopatterned meanders, are very promising candidates for single-photon detectors capable to resolve a number of photons in the pulse. In such devices, the photon number-resolved (PNR) mode is possible due to independent detection of electromagnetic quanta by different regions of the meander. Every photon creates a resistive region in the superconductive meander and the total resistance is expected to be proportional to the number of photons absorbed. While the PNR mode can be realized with available single-photon detectors based on NbN nanowires, up to now it has not been observed experimentally. Here we show that the PNR mode in NbN requires the proper impedance matching between readout circuitry and nanowire-based detector. We discuss possible design of the readout circuitry for PNR detection. Results of modeling show that a high impedance amplifier placed in close proximity to the superconducting nanostructure can provide effective readout for the NbN nanowire-based detector operating in PNR mode.
Photon-number-resolving (PNR) single-photon detectors are an enabling technology in many areas, such as photonic quantum computing, nonclassical light-source characterization, and quantum imaging.Here, we demonstrate high-efficiency PNR detectors using a parallel superconducting nanowire singlephoton-detector (P-SNSPD) architecture that does not suffer from crosstalk between the pixels and that is free of latching.The behavior of the detector is modeled and used to predict the possible outcomes given a certain number of incoming photons.We apply our model to a four-pixel P-SNSPD with a system detection efficiency of 92.5%.We also demonstrate how this detector allows reconstructing the photonnumber statistics of a coherent source of light, which paves the way towards the characterization of the photon statistics of other types of light source using a single detector.