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Applied Physics Letters

A high efficiency superconducting nanowire single electron detector

Michaël Rosticher, F. R. Ladan, J. P. Maneval, Sander N. Dorenbos, T. Zijlstra, T. M. Klapwijk, Val Zwiller, Adrian Lupaşcu, Gilles Nogues

Published Nov 1, 2010• 28 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report the detection of single electrons using a Nb0.7Ti0.3N superconducting wire deposited on an oxidized silicon substrate. While it is known that this device is sensitive to single photons, we show that it also detects single electrons with kilo-electron-volt energy emitted from the cathode of a scanning electron microscope with an efficiency approaching unity. The electron and photon detection efficiency map of the same device are in good agreement. We also observe detection events outside the active area of the device, which we attribute to sensitivity to backscattered electrons.

DOI
10.1063/1.3506692

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We report the detection of single electrons using a Nb0.7Ti0.3N superconducting wire deposited on an oxidized silicon substrate. While it is known that this device is sensitive to single photons, we show that it also detects single electrons with kilo-electron-volt energy emitted from the cathode of a scanning electron microscope with an efficiency approaching unity. The electron and photon detection efficiency map of the same device are in good agreement. We also observe detection events outside the active area of the device, which we attribute to sensitivity to backscattered electrons.
Thin superconducting wires can be engineered as efficient end fast detectors for single photons. They are therefore promising tools for telecommunications or quantum information processing. We wants to extend the ideas on single photon superconducting detectors to the case of single electrons. Our goal is to integrate these devices on atom-chips in order to detect trapped Rydberg atoms that can be easily ionized. We have designed simple NbN wire detectors and developped a complete setup for caracterizing our samples under a cryogenic scanning electron microscop. The detectors are fabricated by e-beam lithography on a NbN layer sputtered on a MgO wafer. Our test samples are cooled down to 8 K under the column of a conventionnal SEM whose electronic beam current and energy are precisely controlled. The use of a focused electron beam, smaller than the wire dimensions, gives access to local properties of the detector. We are able to make a complete map of the detection efficiency over the whole wire. We observe local inhomogeneities like white (high efficiency) or dark (no detection at all) areas. Systematic studies of the efficiency as a function of the bias current in the wire or the electron beam energy were carried out.
Superconducting NbN wires have recently received attention as detectors for visible and infrared photons [1]. We present experiments in which we use a NbN wire for high-efficiency (≃ 40%) detection of single electrons with keV energy. We use the beam of a scanning electron microscope as a focussed, stable, and calibrated electron source. Scanning the beam over the surface of the wire provides a map of the detection efficiency. This map shows features as small as 150 nm, revealing wire inhomogeneities. The intrinsic resolution of this mapping method, superior to optical methods, provides the basis of a characterization tool relevant for photon detectors.
WE REPORT THE DETECTION OF SINGLE ELECTRONS USING A 6 NM-THICK, 100 NM-WIDE, NB0.7TI0.3N SUPERCONDUCTING STRIP DEPOSITED ON A SIOX/SI SUBSTRATE. WHEN BIASED SLIGHTLY BELOW THE CRITICAL CURRENT, A MEANDER-SHAPED DEVICE, NOT ONLY DETECTS SINGLE PHOTONS, BUT ALSO COUNTS THE SINGLE KEV ELECTRONS ISSUED FROM A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM) WITH AN EFFICIENCY APPROACHING UNITY. THE RESPONSE TIME IS SHORT ENOUGH TO DISCRIMINATE THE INCIDENT ELECTRONS FROM THOSE BACKSCATTERED FROM THE UNDERLYING MATERIAL. IT IS THEREFORE POSSIBLE TO MAP THE ELECTRON DETECTIVITY AS WELL AS THE PHOTON DETECTIVITY ON THE SAME DEVICE. A CLEAR CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO MEASUREMENTS IS OBSERVED, WITH A SUPERIOR SPATIAL RESOLUTION THOUGH (AROUND 100 NM) FOR THE SEM MAPPING. IT ILLUSTRATES THE POTENTIAL USE OF THIS SINGLE ELECTRON MAPPING BY THE SEM METHOD TO CHARACTERIZE THE DETECTION HOMOGENEITY OF SSPDS
Niobium nitride superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors were fabricated on thermally oxidized silicon substrates with large active areas of 30 μm× 30 μm.To achieve non-constricted detectors,we improved the film growth and electron beam lithography process to fabricate uniform 100-nm wide Nb N nanowires with a fill factor of 50%.The devices showed 72.4% system detection efficiency(SDE) at 100-Hz dark count rate(DCR) and 74-ps timing jitter,measured at the fiber communication wavelength of 1550 nm.The highest SDE which is 81.2% when the DCR is ～ 700 c/s appears at the wavelength of 1650 nm.
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.
Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) consist of a superconducting wire of nanoscale cross-section [1], typically 4×100 nm2. A current close to the device critical current renders the nanowire sensitive to single photons. SSPDs are known for their high efficiency, low jitter, low dark count rate and fast reset time. An important challenge for future application of SSPDs is to extend the useful wavelength range towards the infrared without comprising detector speed or dark count rate. To this end, we explore optical designs with wider nanowires that utilize efficient detection of single photons at the edge of the nanowire. Silicon nanowires on top of a NbN nanowire increase both the calculated total absorption and the internal detection efficiency significantly compared to a standard meandering wire geometry.