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IEEE International Superconductive Electronics Conference (ISEC)

Modelling of a Two-Signal SFQ Detection Scheme for the Readout of Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors

Connor D. Shelly, Patrick See, Edward J. Romans, A. Casaburi, Jane Ireland, Jonathan M. J. Williams, Robert H. Hadfield

Published Jun 1, 2017• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a two-signal single flux quantum (SFQ) detection scheme for the purpose of reading out two pixels of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). The circuit is based on a coincidence buffer element which is able to output a signal when both of its input lines are triggered. The circuit model for the SNSPD element is simulated in SPICE and optimized to match the experimental SNSPD response data. The two-signal detection scheme is simulated using JSIM which allows for the simulation of Josephson junction elements in a circuit. We demonstrate a model of the two-signal circuit operating with two simulated SNSPD pixel inputs and investigate the response of the scheme when a phase shift is applied to one of the inputs. The scheme shows potential as a useful coincidence detector of single photons. We also present preliminary experimental results of nanobridge-based Josephson junctions to be used in the realization of the coincidence detector circuit. Evidence of the nanobridges exhibiting Josephson behavior (SQUID modulation) are presented.

DOI
10.1109/isec.2017.8314235

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We present a two-signal single flux quantum (SFQ) detection scheme for the purpose of reading out two pixels of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD). The circuit is based on a coincidence buffer element which is able to output a signal when both of its input lines are triggered. The circuit model for the SNSPD element is simulated in SPICE and optimized to match the experimental SNSPD response data. The two-signal detection scheme is simulated using JSIM which allows for the simulation of Josephson junction elements in a circuit. We demonstrate a model of the two-signal circuit operating with two simulated SNSPD pixel inputs and investigate the response of the scheme when a phase shift is applied to one of the inputs. The scheme shows potential as a useful coincidence detector of single photons. We also present preliminary experimental results of nanobridge-based Josephson junctions to be used in the realization of the coincidence detector circuit. Evidence of the nanobridges exhibiting Josephson behavior (SQUID modulation) are presented.
We present a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) based digital correlator to trace independent signals from two superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) triggering its inputs. In our design two SSPDs are magnetically coupled to inputs of a readout system where direct current (DC)-to-SFQ converters are used to convert transient SSPD output pulses, triggered by detection of single-photon events, to SFQ pulses. The coincidence verification of SFQ pulses, generated by the two DC-to-SFQ converters, is performed with a modified SFQ coincidence buffer. The coincidence buffer is designed to generate an SFQ output pulse only when its both inputs are triggered simultaneously, or within a preset margin time. The output of the coincidence buffer is connected via, this time, an SFQ-to-DC converter, to a pulse counter operated at room temperature. We performed extensive simulations of both the SSPD equivalent circuit and correlator redout elements for the proposed coincidence scheme, using a WRSpice and PSCAN2 simulation platforms that are specifically designated to model Josephson junctions and widely used to simulate operation of the SFQ circuitry. In particular, we investigated our coincidence correlator scheme for measurements of the second-order correlation function, used to demonstrate the antibunching effect in the single-photon detection of non-classical light.
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We demonstrate the transfer of single photon triggered electrical pulses from a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) to a single flux quantum (SFQ) pulse. We describe design and test of a digital SFQ based SNSPD readout circuit and demonstrate its correct operation. Both circuits (SNSPD and SFQ) operate under the same cryogenic conditions and are directly connected by wire bonds. A future integration of the present multi-chip configuration seems feasible because both fabrication process and materials are very similar. In contrast to commonly used semiconductor amplifiers, SFQ circuits combine very low power dissipation (a few microwatts) with very high operation speed, thus enabling count-rates of several gigahertz. The SFQ interface circuit simplifies the SNSPD readout and enables large numbers of detectors for future compact multi-pixel systems with single photon counting resolution. The demonstrated circuit has great potential for scaling the present interface solution to 1,000 detectors by using a single SFQ chip.
A two-dimensional single-photon imaging system with high sensitivity and high time resolution is the ultimate camera and useful in a wide range of fields. A superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SSPD or SNSPD) is one of the best candidates for realizing such an ultimate camera due to its high detection efficiency in a wide spectral range, low dark count rate without after-pulsing, and excellent time resolution. Here we propose a new readout scheme to realize a large-scale imaging array based on SSPD, where a row-column readout architecture is combined with a digital signal processor based on a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuit. A 16-pixel row-column readout SSPD array is fabricated and measured with an SFQ digital signal processor. We successfully acquired spatial information as encoded digital bit codes with the temporal information of the photon detection. The system timing jitter was measured as <80 ps for all 16 pixels even through the SFQ signal processor, indicating the potential for an imaging array with an extremely high time resolution.
We developed a monolithic integration process for a superconducting nanostrip single-photon detector (SNSPD) and a cryogenic signal processor based on a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuit. Sixteen-pixel SNSPDs consisting of a 10-nm-thick and 100-nm-wide NbTiN nanowire were fabricated on a 3-in. Si wafer with an SFQ merger fabricated by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Nb 2.5 kA/cm2 standard process 2. Subsequently, we illuminated the photons on the 16-pixel SNSPD array through an optical fiber and obtained a similar bias-current dependence of the detection efficiency with a single-pixel SNSPD without the SFQ merger. This indicates that the SFQ merger works correctly, and that the power dissipation of the SFQ circuit, which is estimated to be 200 μW, does not deteriorate the photon detection of SNSPD fabricated on the same chip with a size of 5 × 5 mm2. Furthermore, we measured timing jitter using a pulsed laser as the photon source. Owing to the careful tuning of the wiring length between each pixel of the 16-pixel SNSPD and each input port of the SFQ merger, the obtained timing jitter was 41.4 ps, which is approximately equal to or less than that of the single-pixel SNSPD.
We report on the timing jitter characterization of the superconducting single flux quantum (SFQ) coincidence circuit, which is an essential component of the superconducting coincidence photon counter. Two superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SSPDs), each of which is irradiated with optically time-controlled photons, are connected to the SFQ coincidence circuit, and the timing jitter of the SFQ circuit is evaluated by changing the relative time delay between two input ports for the SFQ comparator unit. We successfully observe the transition curve of the probability of obtaining the signal from the SFQ coincidence circuit by sweeping photon arrival time to each SSPD and confirm that this curve shifts temporally upon changing the bias current to the Josephson transmission line (JTL) in the SFQ circuit. A systematic investigation reveals that the relation between time delay and the bias current to JTL can be estimated. The full width half maximum timing jitter of the SFQ circuit is 1.1 ps, which is sufficiently low so that it does not influence the entire timing jitter of the coincidence photon counter.