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IEEE Photonics Conference

Infrared photon counting with superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

Robert H. Hadfield, Chandra M. Natarajan, Michael G. Tanner

Published Sep 1, 2013• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors are a highly promising infrared photon counting technology. We will review recent applications of these devices in quantum information science, remote sensing and medicine.
DOI
10.1109/ipcon.2013.6656590

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Single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires (SSPDs or SNSPDs) have rapidly emerged as a highly promising photon-counting technology for infrared wavelengths. These devices offer high efficiency, low dark counts and excellent timing resolution. In this review, we consider the basic SNSPD operating principle and models of device behaviour. We give an overview of the evolution of SNSPD device design and the improvements in performance which have been achieved. We also evaluate device limitations and noise mechanisms. We survey practical refrigeration technologies and optical coupling schemes for SNSPDs. Finally we summarize promising application areas, ranging from quantum cryptography to remote sensing. Our goal is to capture a detailed snapshot of an emerging superconducting detector technology on the threshold of maturity.
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) are a highly promising emerging photon counting technology, offering infrared sensitivity combined with low dark count rates and sub-100 ps timing jitter [1]. These devices are under consideration for a wide variety of photon counting applications, from quantum cryptography to remote sensing. Next generation device designs based on optical cavities, ultra narrow wires, parallel wire arrays and nano-antenna enhanced devices are being evaluated to meet the demands of advanced photon counting applications.
We present an overview of recent results for new generation of infrared and optical superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) that has already demonstrated a performance that makes them devices-of-choice for many applications. SNSPDs provide high efficiency for detecting individual photons while keeping dark counts and timing jitter minimal. Besides superior detection performance over a broad optical bandwidth, SNSPDs are also compatible with an integrated optical platform as a crucial requirement for applications in emerging quantum photonic technologies. By embedding SNSPDs in nanophotonic circuits we realize waveguide integrated single photon detectors which unite all desirable detector properties in a single device.
Superconducting nanowires are currently a key technology for photon sensing, with key performance metrics exceeding those of most competing technologies. For example, recently detector timing resolution of just 3 ps for single visible photons was demonstrated. In addition, infrared sensitivity has long been a key advantage of these techniques. But the field continues to change rapidly, with interesting architectures emerging that promise increased functionality in the same form factor. For example, imaging, photon-number-resolution, and spectroscopy are all promising directions the field is now pursuing. In this review, I will explain the technology, applications, and background device physics, but also touch on some of the latest new developments.
The ability to detect single photons in the mid-infrared spectral range (beyond 2 μm wavelength, photon energy below 0.62 eV) is the key to unlocking a range of emerging scientific applications, from remote sensing LIDAR, molecular spectroscopy, and powerful new approaches to dark matter detection. Conventional detector types, such as semiconductor single-photon avalanche diodes, lose sensitivity at such low photon energy. Superconducting materials, with a much lower characteristic energy gap, hold particular promise. In this Perspective, we focus on recent advances in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, which have recently extended single-photon sensitivity up to 29 μm (0.043 eV). We discuss the potential for future advances and strategies to overcome challenges to technological development.
Single-photon counting has become an essential tool in quantum optics experiments, as well as remote sensing and life science applications. However conventional technologies such as single-photon avalanche diodes, as well as the availability of standard telecom optical components, has limited much of this work to the near infrared/telecom wavelength range. Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have emerged in recent years as the gold standard in photon counting applications due to their low dark count rates, fast timing resolution and high efficiency [1]. SNSPDs have also demonstrated photon counting efficiency out to much greater wavelengths which enables us to explore new experimental possibilities in the mid-infrared [2]. In this work we design and fabricate mid-infrared SNSPDs and deploy them in a variety of photon counting experiments [3,4]. The devices are based on a NbTiN superconducting film integrated into an optical cavity to enhance absorption in the mid-infrared. We characterise these devices using an optical parametric oscillator, tuneable between 1.5 m and 4.2 m. We then deploy these in a proof-of-principle tabletop light detection and ranging (LIDAR) experiment at 2.3 m. LIDAR in the mid-infrared is attractive due to spectral regions of low atmospheric absorption and reduced solar background photon flux, when compared to telecom wavelengths. We also present results from a photon-pair source operating at 2 m. This is a key resource for extending quantum optics and quantum secure communications to the mid infrared domain. Pairs are generated using a custom lithium niobate crystal and detected using SNSPDs. We demonstrate two-photon interference and polarisation entanglement of the photon pairs at 2 m. This work opens the pathway to future development of quantum optics and quantum technologies in the mid-infrared spectral region. References [1] Gol’tsman et al Applied Physics Letters 79 705 (2001) [2] Marisli et al Nano Letters 12 (9) 4799 (2012) [3] G. G. Taylor et al Optics Express 26 (27) 38147 (2018) [4] S. Prabhakar et al Science Advances 6 (13) eaay5195 (2019)