Superconductive Device: Physics and Device Performance of Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors

茂人 三木, Shigehito Miki

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

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.

Berggren, Anant, Baek +11 more

Adam N. McCaughan, Dylan M. Oh, Sae Woo Nam

Superconducting nanowire devices, such as the superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) or nanocryotron, have a time-dependent stochasticity that depends on the current flowing through them. When modeling complex circuits made of several such devices (for instance, an array of SNSPDs), the ability to include this randomness can be important for predicting unwanted effects and interactions within the circuit. We present a modification of the model described by Berggren et al. that allows for the inclusion of this stochasticity into the nanowire device model. We then verify the model against experiment using a tungsten silicide SNSPD, and show that the modified model replicates the stochasticity of the physical device.

Stephan Steinhauer, Samuel Gyger, Ali W. Elshaari +7 more

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have become a mature technology for single-photon detection with excellent performance [...]

Xiaolong Hu, Yuhao Cheng, Chao Gu +2 more