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arXiv:cond-mat/0608693 · Nature

Resolving photon number states in a superconducting circuit

David Schuster, Andrew Houck, J. A. Schreier, Andreas J. Wallraff, Jay Gambetta, Alexandre Blais, Luigi Frunzio, Johannes Majer, Blake Johnson, Michel Devoret, S. M. Girvin, R. J. Schoelkopf

Published Feb 1, 2007• 850 citations
arXivHTMLPDF
DOI
10.1038/nature05461

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Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are typical switching devices capable of detecting single photons with almost 100% detection efficiency. However, they cannot determine the exact number of incident photons during a detection event. Multi-pixel SNSPDs employing multiple read-out channels can provide photon number resolvability (PNR), but they require increased cooling power and costly multi-channel electronic systems. In this work, a single-flux quantum (SFQ) circuit is employed, and PNR based on multi-pixel SNSPDs is successfully demonstrated. A multi-input magnetically coupled DC/SFQ converter (MMD2Q) circuit with a mutual inductance M is used to combine and record signals from a multi-pixel SNSPD device. The designed circuit is capable of discriminating the amplitude of the combined signals in accuracy of Φ 0/M with Φ 0 being a single magnetic flux quantum. By employing the MMD2Q circuit, the discrimination of up to 40 photons can be simulated. A 4-parallel-input MMD2Q circuit is fabricated, and a PNR of 3 is successfully demonstrated for an SNSPD array with one channel reserved for the functional verification. The results confirm that an MMD2Q circuit is an effective tool for implementing PNR with multi-pixel SNSPDs.
Abstract In recent years, photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors have attracted great interest, mainly because they can play a key role in diverse application fields. A PNR detector with a large dynamic range would represent an ideal photon detector, bringing the linear response of conventional analogue detectors down to the single-photon level. Several technologies, such as InGaAs single photon avalanche detectors (SPADs), arrays of silicon photomultipliers, InGaAs SPADs with self-differencing circuits and transition edge sensors have shown photon number resolving capability. Superconducting nanowires provide free-running single-photon sensitivity from visible to mid-infrared frequencies, low dark counts, excellent timing resolution (<60 ps) and short dead time (∼10 ns), at an easily accessible temperature (2–3 K), but they do not inherently resolve the photon number. In this framework, PNR detectors based on arrays of superconducting nanowires have been proposed. In this article we describe a number of methods and device configurations that have been pursued to obtain PNR capability using superconducting nanowire detectors.