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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

55% system detection efficiency with self-aligned WSi superconducting nanowire single photon detectors

Varun Boehm Verma, Francesco Marsili, Burm Baek, Adriana E. Lita, Thomas Gerrits, Jeffrey A. Stern, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam

Published Jan 1, 2012• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report a system detection efficiency of 55 % at 1500 nm with an amorphous tungsten-silicide (WSi) superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) using a self-aligned packaging scheme for alignment of the detector and optical fiber.
DOI
10.1364/qels.2012.qtu1e.5

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We report on high-efficiency superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors based on amorphous tungsten silicide and optimized at 1064 nm. At an operating temperature of 1.8 K, we demonstrated a 93% system detection efficiency at this wavelength with a dark noise of a few counts per second. Combined with cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric downconversion, this fiber-coupled detector enabled us to generate narrowband single photons with a heralding efficiency greater than 90% and a high spectral brightness of 0.6×104 photons/(s·mW·MHz). Beyond single-photon generation at large rate, such high-efficiency detectors open the path to efficient multiple-photon heralding and complex quantum state engineering.
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We investigate the operation of WSi superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) at 2.5 K, a temperature which is ∼70% of the superconducting transition temperature (TC) of 3.4 K. We demonstrate saturation of the system detection efficiency at 78 ± 2% at a wavelength of 1310 nm, with a jitter of 191 ps. We find that the jitter at 2.5 K is limited by the noise of the readout and can be improved through the use of cryogenic amplifiers. Operation of SNSPDs with high efficiency at temperatures very close to TC appears to be a unique property of amorphous WSi.
We present an alternative approach to the fabrication of highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) based on tungsten silicide. Using well-established technologies for the deposition of dielectric mirrors and anti-reflection coatings in conjunction with an embedded WSi bilayer photon absorber structure, we fabricated a bandwidth-enhanced detector. It exhibits system detection efficiencies (SDE) higher than (87.1±1.3) %\left(87.1\pm1.3\right)\,\%(87.1±1.3)% in the range from 1450 nm1450\,\mathrm{nm}1450nm to 1640 nm1640\,\mathrm{nm}1640nm, with a maximum of (92.9±1.1) %\left(92.9\pm1.1\right)\,\%(92.9±1.1)% at 1515 nm1515\,\mathrm{nm}1515nm. Our measurements indicate SDE enhancements of up to (18.4±1.7) %\left(18.4\pm1.7\right)\,\%(18.4±1.7)% over a single-absorber WSi SNSPD. The latter has been optimized for 1550 nm for comparison and exhibits maximum SDE of (93.5±1.2) %\left(93.5\pm1.2\right)\,\%(93.5±1.2)% at 1555 nm. We emphasize that our technological approach has been tested with, but is not limited to, the wavelengths and absorber material presented here. It could be adapted flexibly for multi-color detector systems from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared wavelength range. This bears the potential for significant improvements in many current quantum optical experiments and applications as well as for detector commercialization.