We study the reset dynamics of niobium ��Nb�� superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors ��SNSPDs�� using experimental measurements and numerical simulations. The numerical simulations of the detection dynamics agree well with experimental measurements, using independently determined parameters in the simulations. We find that if the photon-induced hotspot cools too slowly, the device will latch into a dc resistive state. To avoid latching, the time for the hotspot to cool must be short compared to the inductive time constant that governs the resetting of the current in the device after hotspot formation. From simulations of the energy relaxation process, we find that the hotspot cooling time is determined primarily by the temperature-dependent electron-phonon inelastic time. Latching prevents reset and precludes subsequent photon detection. Fast resetting to the superconducting state is, therefore, essential, and we demonstrate experimentally how this is achieved. We compare our results to studies of reset and latching in niobium nitride SNSPDs

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We have realized superconducting single photon detectors with reduced inductance and increased signal pulse amplitude. The detectors are based on a parallel connection of ultrathin NbN nanowires with a common bias inductance. When properly biased, an absorbed photon induces a cascade switch of all the parallel wires generating a signal pulse amplitude of 2 mV. The parallel wire configuration lowers the detector inductance and reduces the response time well below 1 ns

The electrochemical gating technique is a powerful tool to tune the surface electronic conduction properties of various materials by means of pure charge doping, but its efficiency is thought to be hampered in materials with a good electronic screening. We show that, if applied to a metallic superconductor (NbN thin films), this approach allows observing reversible enhancements or suppressions of the bulk superconducting transition temperature, which vary with the thickness of the films. These results are interpreted in terms of proximity effect, and indicate that the effective screening length depends on the induced charge density, becoming much larger than that predicted by standard screening theory at very high electric fields.

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have been realized using an innovative parallel wire configuration. This configuration allows, at the same time, a large detection area and a fast response, with the additional advantage of large signal amplitudes. The detectors have been thoroughly characterized in terms of signal properties (amplitude, risetime and falltime), detector operation (latching and not latching) and quantum efficiency (at 850 nm). It has been shown that the parallel SNSPD is able to provide significantly higher maximum count rates for large area SNSPDs than meandered SNSPDs. Through a proper parallel wire configuration the increase in maximum count rate can be obtained without latching problems.