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Progress in physics

ADVANCED SINGLE-PHOTON DETECTOR TECHNOLOGIES

Qing-Lin Wu

Published Jan 1, 2010• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In the last decade,more and more quantum information applications such as quantum key distribution have been extensively demonstrated.These emerging applications place rigorous demands on detector performance such as detection efficiency,intrinsic photon number resolving ability etc.that go beyond the capabilities of traditional single-photon detectors composed of either photomultiplier tubes(PMTs) or avalanche photodiodes(APDs).Fortunately,several new types of cryogenic detectors such as superconducting transition edge sensor(TES),superconducting nanowire single photon detector(SNSPD),and quantum-dot based single photon detector(QD SPD)have been realized recently.Here we review all kinds of single photon detector technologies at the present time. Advantages,disadvantages,and potential improvement of these techniques for quantum information applications are also discussed.

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In the last decade,more and more quantum information applications such as quantum key distribution have been extensively demonstrated.These emerging applications place rigorous demands on detector performance such as detection efficiency,intrinsic photon number resolving ability etc.that go beyond the capabilities of traditional single-photon detectors composed of either photomultiplier tubes(PMTs) or avalanche photodiodes(APDs).Fortunately,several new types of cryogenic detectors such as superconducting transition edge sensor(TES),superconducting nanowire single photon detector(SNSPD),and quantum-dot based single photon detector(QD SPD)have been realized recently.Here we review all kinds of single photon detector technologies at the present time. Advantages,disadvantages,and potential improvement of these techniques for quantum information applications are also discussed.
Over the past decade, there have been increasing demand on and interest in high performance single photon detectors in many new applications in quantum information technology. Compared with conventional single photon detectors, superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) based single photon detectors have great advantages in the performance of detection efficiency, energy resolution, photon number resolving capability, dark count rate, etc. They have been successfully used in quantum optics experiments and quantum key distribution systems, and they will play a more important role in the research field of quantum information science and technology. In this paper we review the operating principle, fabrication process, performance, measurement system and the research progress on superconducting TES based single photon detectors.
We present the latest results on two kinds of photon detectors: single photon detectors (SPDs) and photon number resolving detector (PNRD). We developed high speed and low noise SPDs using superconducting nano-wire (abbreviated by SNSPD) and semiconductor (InGaAs) avalanche photodiode (APD). The SNSPD system has totally four channels all of which have the detection eciency higher than 16% at 100Hz dark count rate. The InGaAs APD system also has four channels and the best performance is represented by the after-pulse probability of 0.61%, the dark count probability of 0.71×10-6 (~1kHz), and the detection eciency of 10.9%. Both systems were applied to wavelength division multiplexing quantum key distribution (WDM-QKD) operated at 1.2GHz repetition rate in a eld environment. The PNRD is made of superconducting transition edge sensor. It was applied to the implementation of quantum receiver which could beat the homodyne limit of the bit error rate of binary coherent states. We discuss future perspective of quantum communications with those photon detection technologies, including multi-user QKD networks and low-power high capacity communications.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have distinguished themselves as a near-optimal choice for a range of quantum information applications, including integrated photonics and quantum key distribution. But the most recent demands from the quantum domain are stretching their capabilities. In particular, photon number resolution has not been readily available in high-performance variants of the devices, and superconducting nanowires were generally thought not to be capable of intrinsic photon number resolution. Recently, significant results in this area have shown that photon number resolution is quite practical with SNSPDs. In addition, wider nanowires have shown good performance, suggesting that the devices can be fabricated using standard photolithography equipment. In this talk, I will review the SNSPD technology, as well as discuss our latest results.
Single-photon detection,which is the core of weak light detection,plays key role in the fields of quantum information,physics,biology,chemistry and astronomy.The low sensibility and the high dark count rate of traditional single-photon detectors which base on photomultiplier tube or avalanche photodiode limit the improvement of the signal noise ratio and the low counting rate limits the detecting speed and the dynamic range.Here we review the single-photon detecting technology using superconducting materials as light sensitive apparatus.Their quantum efficiency,dark count rate and counting rate outclass the traditional single-photon detector.Their appearances certainly will bring a great influence to the subjects relating to the single-photon detection.
Single-photon detectors based on superconducting thin films have become a viable class of technologies for widespread usage in quantum optics. In this tutorial paper we introduce the key performance metrics required of them for quantum information processing and related fields. We review the latest records achieved by such devices, study technical details regarding recent improvements in superconducting nanowire detectors and transition-edge sensors, and present representative applications in cutting-edge research areas that benefit from these advances.