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High-efficiency WSi superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors operating at 2.5 K

Varun Boehm Verma, Korzh, Boris, Bussieres, Félix, Robert D. Horansky, Adriana E. Lita, Francesco Marsili, Matthew D. Shaw, Zbinden, Hugo, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam

Published Jan 1, 2014• 55 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

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.

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Applied Physics Letters•Apr 21, 2025•4 citations
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 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 report on MoSi SNSPDs which achieved high system detection efficiency (87.1 ± 0.5% at 1542 nm) at 0.7 K and we demonstrate that these detectors can also be operated with saturated internal efficiency at a temperature of 2.3 K in a Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. We measured a minimum system jitter of 76 ps, maximum count rate approaching 10 MHz, and polarization dependence as low as 3.3 ± 0.1%. The performance of MoSi SNSPDs at 2.3 K is similar to the performance of WSi SNSPDs at < 1 K. The higher operating temperature of MoSi SNSPDs makes these devices promising for widespread use due to the simpler and less expensive cryogenics required for their operation.
We present the characteristics of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) fabricated from amorphous Mo0.75Ge0.25 thin-films. Fabricated devices show a saturation of the internal detection efficiency at temperatures below 1 K, with system dark count rates below 500 cps. Operation in a closed-cycle cryocooler at 2.5 K is possible with system detection efficiencies exceeding 20% for SNSPDs which have not been optimized for high detection efficiency. Jitter is observed to vary between 69 ps at 250 mK and 187 ps at 2.5 K using room temperature amplifiers.
Recent progress in the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) made of amorphous material has delivered excellent performances, and has had a great impact on a range of research fields. Despite showing the highest system detection efficiency (SDE) ever reported with SNSPDs, amorphous materials typically lead to lower critical currents, which impacts on their jitter performance. Combining a very low jitter and a high SDE remains a challenge. Here, we report on highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors based on amorphous MoSi, combining system jitters as low as 26 ps and a SDE of 80% at 1550 nm. We also report detailed observations on the jitter behaviour, which hints at intrinsic limitations and leads to practical implications for SNSPD performance.
Recent progress in the development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) made of amorphous materials has delivered excellent performances and has had a great impact on a range of research fields. Despite showing the highest system detection efficiency (SDE) ever reported with SNSPDs, amorphous materials typically lead to lower critical currents, which have impacts on their jitter performance. Combining a very low jitter and a high SDE remains a challenge. Here, we report on highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors based on amorphous MoSi, combining system jitters as low as 26 ps and a SDE of 80% at 1550 nm. We also report detailed observations on the jitter behaviour, which hints at intrinsic limitations and leads to practical implications for SNSPD performance.
In this Letter, we characterized superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) based on amorphous tungsten germanide (W0.8Ge0.2) superconducting films, which exhibit superconducting properties comparable to those of amorphous WSi. The nanowire width ranges from 60 to 90 nm, with a fixed filling factor of 30%. All fabricated devices exhibit saturated intrinsic detection efficiency for infrared photons with wavelengths up to 2 μm, indicating that WGe is a promising candidate for SNSPDs designed for mid- and far-infrared photon detection. The timing jitter of these detectors, measured with a room-temperature amplifier, ranges from 127 to 234.5 ps. Further improvements can be achieved through device geometry optimization or the implementation of cryogenic amplifiers.