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Optical Fiber Communication Conference

Multi-channel system with high-performance fractal superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

Zifan Hao, Kai Zou, Yun Meng, Thomas Descamps, Adrian Iovan, Val Zwiller, Xiaolong Hu

Published Jan 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on an eight-channel fractal SNSPD system in the wavelength range of 940 nm with minimal polarization sensitivity. The best channel exhibits 96% system detection efficiency and 19 cps dark-count rate.
DOI
10.1364/ofc.2024.tu2c.4

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Superconducting nanowire (nanostrip) single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have shown unprecedented detection efficiency and timing properties, but simultaneously achieving polarization-insensitive high detection efficiency, low dark-count rate (DCR), fast speed, and low timing jitter remains a challenge. Here we report on our design, fabrication, and characterization of a cascaded superconducting avalanche photodetector composed of 40 nm wide NbTiN nanowires patterned into fractal curves. At the base temperature of 2.7 K, the device exhibits 60±3% system detection efficiency at the wavelength of 1550 nm, 1.05 polarization sensitivity, 220 cps DCR, 4 ns recovery time, and 45 ps timing jitter. This Letter not only demonstrates these combined properties on a single detector that was unobtainable previously, but also shows that that current-crowding effect remarkably permits decent internal detection efficiency. These counter-intuitive results expand the understanding pertaining to the device physics of SNSPDs.