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Quantum light detection in high-temperature superconducting nanowires

Mariia Sidorova, Alexej D. Semenov, H.-W. Hübers, Anton N. Vetlugin, Cesare Soci, Ilya Charaev, A. Schilling, Serguei Cherednichenko

Published Oct 1, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Detection of light quanta in superconducting nano- and microwires is the key enabling technology for fields ranging from quantum optics and quantum photonics to emerging applications like dark matter searches. However, recent progress in accessing lower photon energies or utilizing high-temperature superconductors reveals substantial gaps in understanding quantum detection physics and calibrating photonic quantum systems. To bridge these gaps, we develop a universal model that incorporates spatially and energy-resolved detection physics, essential for photonic quantum sensors. We validate our approach using modern MgB$_{2}$ nanowire detectors, retrieving their detection threshold and its intrinsic energy blur, by disentangling the complex statistics of single- and multi-photon detection. Our model can augment quantum detector tomography by embedding physical constraints, and it offers a practical tool for modeling and engineering a broad class of detectors under diverse operating conditions.

DOI
10.5167/uzh-291284

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Detection of light quanta in superconducting nano- and microwires is the key enabling technology for fields ranging from quantum optics and quantum photonics to emerging applications like dark matter searches. However, recent progress in accessing lower photon energies or utilizing high-temperature superconductors reveals substantial gaps in understanding quantum detection physics and calibrating photonic quantum systems. To bridge these gaps, we develop a universal model that incorporates spatially and energy-resolved detection physics, essential for photonic quantum sensors. We validate our approach using modern MgB2_{2}2​ nanowire detectors, retrieving their detection threshold and its intrinsic energy blur, by disentangling the complex statistics of single- and multi-photon detection. Our model can augment quantum detector tomography by embedding physical constraints, and it offers a practical tool for modeling and engineering a broad class of detectors under diverse operating conditions.
Detection of light quanta in superconducting nano- and microwires is the key enabling technology for fields ranging from quantum optics and quantum photonics to emerging applications like dark matter searches. However, recent progress in accessing lower photon energies or utilizing high-temperature superconductors reveals substantial gaps in understanding quantum detection physics and calibrating photonic quantum systems. To bridge these gaps, we develop a universal model that incorporates spatially and energy-resolved detection physics, essential for photonic quantum sensors. We validate our approach using modern MgB2 nanowire detectors, retrieving their detection threshold and its intrinsic energy blur, by disentangling the complex statistics of single- and multi-photon detection. Our model can augment quantum detector tomography by embedding physical constraints, and it offers a practical tool for modeling and engineering a broad class of detectors under diverse operating conditions.
Abstract Detection of light quanta in superconducting nano- and microwires is the key enabling technology for fields ranging from quantum optics and quantum photonics to emerging applications like dark matter searches. However, recent progress in accessing lower photon energies or utilizing high-temperature superconductors reveals substantial gaps in understanding quantum detection physics and calibrating photonic quantum systems. To bridge these gaps, we develop a universal model that incorporates spatially and energy-resolved detection physics, essential for photonic quantum sensors. We validate our approach using modern MgB2 nanowire detectors, retrieving their detection threshold and its intrinsic energy blur, by disentangling the complex statistics of single- and multi-photon detection. Our model can augment quantum detector tomography by embedding physical constraints, and it offers a practical tool for modeling and engineering a broad class of detectors under diverse operating conditions.
The ability to detect single photons in the mid-infrared spectral range (beyond 2 μm wavelength, photon energy below 0.62 eV) is the key to unlocking a range of emerging scientific applications, from remote sensing LIDAR, molecular spectroscopy, and powerful new approaches to dark matter detection. Conventional detector types, such as semiconductor single-photon avalanche diodes, lose sensitivity at such low photon energy. Superconducting materials, with a much lower characteristic energy gap, hold particular promise. In this Perspective, we focus on recent advances in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, which have recently extended single-photon sensitivity up to 29 μm (0.043 eV). We discuss the potential for future advances and strategies to overcome challenges to technological development.
In this talk, I will present the latest results in superconducting single-photon detectors. Superconducting wires have remarkable sensitivity to single-photons and are a reliable and high-performance technology with significant impact on the quantum information research community. However, increasingly applications as diverse as detection of high-energy particles and searches for dark matter are being pursued. Finally, research on these nanowires has permitted their use for basic electronics circuits such as comparators, shift registers, and counters. We will review these and other topics surrounding the development of nanowire single-photon detectors.
Superconducting nanowires have emerged as a powerful tool for detecting single photons in the visible and near-infrared range with excellent device performance metrics. We outline challenges and future directions related to the up-scaling of nanowire devices and detector systems toward widespread applications in demanding real-world settings. Progress on achieving superconducting single-photon detectors with a large active area and an increasing number of pixels is reviewed, comparing the recent literature in terms of the reported key detector parameters. Furthermore, we summarize currently available readout and multiplexing schemes for multi-pixel detector arrays and discuss implications of the recently discovered microwire-based detector geometries.
Single-photon detection possibility is a fundamental requirement for quantum technologies, including communication, computing and sensing. To achieve scalability and practical deployment, increasing attention is being directed toward integration of detectors with photonic integrated circuits, which offer compactness and compatibility with mass production. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors have emerged as the leading solution, combining near-unity efficiency, high temporal performance and the ability to be embedded across a wide range of photonic material platforms. In this review we trace the development of integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors from early demonstrations to recent advances, outlining the progress in device architectures, material engineering and integration strategies. We also discuss performance benchmarks, emerging alternative designs, the future opportunities and challenges for this rapidly evolving field.