Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors on GaAs for integrated quantum photonic applications

Gaggero, A.; Nejad, S. Jahanmiri; Marsili, Francesco; Mattioli, F.; Leoni, R.; Bitauld, David; Sahin, Döndü; Hamhuis, G. J.; Nötzel, R.; Sanjinés, R.; Fiore, Andrea

doi:10.1063/1.3496457

Cited by 74 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, after over ten years of research, to date the system detection efficiency (SDE, which includes the efficiency of the optical coupling to the detector) of SNSPDs has been limited to ~ 20% 11,12 at 1550 nm wavelength (λ), due to the limited compatibility between the superconducting material used (typically, NbN) and the structures to enhance the SDE. Because the superconducting properties of NbN films depend on the crystal phase of the films 13 and are affected by crystal defects 14,15 , using NbN nanowires makes it challenging to meet the two requirements to achieve high-SDE SNSPDs: (1) the superconducting properties of nanowires and of bulk samples are similar, which ensures the correct operation of the detector; (2) the light is coupled to the detector and absorbed in the nanowires with high efficiency. The fragility of superconducting NbN with respect to structural disorder limits: (1) the fabrication yield of large-area devices 16 , (2) the choice of substrates for fabrication, and (3) the design parameters of optical structures that would enhance the absorption in the nanowires.…”

Section: Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting single infrared photons with 93% system efficiency

et al. 2013

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Introductory paragraphSingle-photon detectors (SPDs) 1 at near-infrared wavelengths with high system detection efficiency (> 90%), low dark count rate (< 1 counts per second, cps), low timing jitter (< 100 ps), and short reset time (< 100 ns) would enable landmark experiments in a variety of fields [2][3][4][5][6] . Although some of the existing approaches to single-photon detection fulfill one or two of the above specifications 1 , to date no detector has met all of the specifications simultaneously. Here we report on a fiber-coupled singlephoton-detection system employing superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) 7 that closely approaches the ideal performance of SPDs. Our detector system has a system detection efficiency (SDE), including optical-coupling losses, greater than 90% in the wavelength range λ = 1520 -1610 nm; device dark count rate (measured with the device shielded from room-temperature blackbody radiation) of ≈ 0.01 cps; timing jitter of ≈ 150 ps FWHM; and reset time of 40 ns.

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Section: Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting single infrared photons with 93% system efficiency

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“…The NbN film is deposited by sputtering a Nb target in ArþN 2 mixture at total pressure P TOT ¼ 2.3 mTorr. The deposition is carried out at a nominal temperature of 400 C, with target current of 250 mA and target voltage of 380 V. These deposition conditions, similar to those previously used to fabricate highperformance meander-and waveguide-SSPDs, [22][23][24] allowed the realization of a film with critical temperature T c ¼ 9.67 K and transition width DT c ¼ 0.34 K. Then contact pads, consisting of 14 nm Ti and 140 nm Au layers, are defined through optical lithography, electron beam evaporation and lift off. In the final step, the nanowires are patterned from the NbN film by electron-beam lithography and reactive-ion etching in Ar/SF 6 plasma.…”

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Inhomogeneous critical current in nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors

et al. 2014

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A superconducting thin film with uniform properties is the key to realize nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) with high performance and high yield. To investigate the uniformity of NbN films, we introduce and characterize simple detectors consisting of short nanowires with length ranging from 100nm to 15μm. Our nanowires, contrary to meander SSPDs, allow probing the homogeneity of NbN at the nanoscale. Experimental results, endorsed by a microscopic model, show the strongly inhomogeneous nature of NbN films on the sub-100nm scale.

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“…By construction, IDE =´LDE(x)A(x)dx/´A(x)dx, where the integral arXiv:1504.05003v1 [cond-mat.supr-con] 20 Apr 2015 runs along the cross-section of the wire and A(x) represents the absorption probability density. We perform our experiments on a 100 nm long, 150 nm wide NbN bridge patterned from a 5 nm-thick NbN film sputtered on a GaAs substrate [31] (I c = 28 µA).…”

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Position-Dependent Local Detection Efficiency in a Nanowire Superconducting Single-Photon Detector

et al. 2015

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We probe the local detection efficiency in a nanowire superconducting single-photon detector along the cross-section of the wire with a spatial resolution of 10 nm. We experimentally find a strong variation in the local detection efficiency of the device. We demonstrate that this effect explains previously observed variations in NbN detector efficiency as function of device geometry.Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) consist of a superconducting wire of nanoscale cross-section [1], typically 4 nm by 100 nm. Photon detection occurs when a single quantum of light is absorbed and triggers a transition from the superconducting to the normal state. SSPDs have high efficiency, low jitter, low dark count rate and fast reset time [2], and are therefore a key technology for, among others, quantum key distribution Although progress has been made recently, the underlying physical mechanism responsible for photon detection on the nanoscale is still under active investigation. A combination of theory [6,7], experiments [8][9][10] and simulations [11,12] on NbN SSPDs indicates that the absorption of a photon destroys Cooper pairs in the superconductor and creates a localized cloud of quasiparticles that diverts current across the wire. This makes the wire susceptible to the entry of a superconducting vortex from the edge of the wire. Energy dissipation by this moving vortex drives the system to the normal state.An important and unexpected implication of this detection model is a nanoscale position variation in the photodetection properties of the device. The conditions at the entry point of the vortex determine the energy required for it to cross the wire. This causes photons absorbed close to the edge to have a local detection efficiency (LDE) [13] compared to photons absorbed in the center of the wire [12]. This effect has practical implications for the operation of SSPDs, since it represents a potential limitation of the detection efficiency. In addition, SSPDs have been proposed for nanoscale sensing, either in a near-field optical microscope configuration [14] or as a subwavelength multiphoton probe [15], where this effect would be of major importance for the properties of such a microscope. While this effect has been predicted theoretically, clear experimental evidence is missing. * renema@physics.leidenuniv.nlIn this work, we experimentally explore the nanoscale variations in the intrinsic response of the detector. We spatially resolve the LDE with a resolution of approximately 10 nm, better than λ/50, using far-field illumination only. We find that our results are qualitatively consistent with numerical simulations [11,12]. Our results provide excellent quantitative agreement with experiments that indicate a polarization dependence in the LDE that was hitherto not understood [16].The key technique used in this work is a differential polarization measurement that probes the IDE of the detector (see Figure 1). The technique is based on the fact that polarized light is absorbed preferentially in dif...

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Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors on GaAs for integrated quantum photonic applications

Cited by 74 publications

References 19 publications

Detecting single infrared photons with 93% system efficiency

Detecting single infrared photons with 93% system efficiency

Inhomogeneous critical current in nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors

Position-Dependent Local Detection Efficiency in a Nanowire Superconducting Single-Photon Detector

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