D. Rall

Intrinsic detection efficiency of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with different thicknesses

We evaluate experimentally the intrinsic detection efficiency (IDE) of superconducting NbN nanowire single-photon detectors in the range of wire thicknesses from 4 to 12 nm. The study is performed in the broad spectral interval between near-ultraviolet (wavelength 400 nm) and near-infrared (wavelength 2000 nm) light with plane waves at normal incidence. For visible light the IDE of the thinnest detectors reaches 70%. We use numerically computed absorptance of the nanowire-structures for the analysis of the experimental data. Variations in the detection efficiency with both the wire thickness and the wavelength evidence the red boundary of the hot-spot photon-detection mechanism. We explain the detection at larger wavelengths invoking thermal excitation of magnetic Pearl vortices over the potential barrier at the edges of the wire.

Demonstration of digital readout circuit for superconducting nanowire single photon detector.

We demonstrate the transfer of single photon triggered electrical pulses from a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) to a single flux quantum (SFQ) pulse. We describe design and test of a digital SFQ based SNSPD readout circuit and demonstrate its correct operation. Both circuits (SNSPD and SFQ) operate under the same cryogenic conditions and are directly connected by wire bonds. A future integration of the present multi-chip configuration seems feasible because both fabrication process and materials are very similar. In contrast to commonly used semiconductor amplifiers, SFQ circuits combine very low power dissipation (a few microwatts) with very high operation speed, thus enabling count-rates of several gigahertz. The SFQ interface circuit simplifies the SNSPD readout and enables large numbers of detectors for future compact multi-pixel systems with single photon counting resolution. The demonstrated circuit has great potential for scaling the present interface solution to 1,000 detectors by using a single SFQ chip.

Energy relaxation time in NbN and YBCO thin films under optical irradiation

For a systematic study of energy relaxation processes in thin NbN and YBCO films on sapphire substrates, a frequency domain technique has been set up and employed. The magnetron sputtered NbN films of 3 nm to 22 nm thickness and pulsed-laser deposited YBCO films with thicknesses between 20 nm and 45 nm were excited by amplitude-modulated optical radiation (? = 850 nm). The response spectra were analyzed on basis of the two-temperature model of the energy dynamics in the interacting electron and phonon subsystems at quasi-equilibrium conditions. An increase of the energy relaxation time with increasing film thickness has been obtained for both NbN and YBCO thin film samples.

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors: Quantum efficiency vs. film thickness

The quantum efficiency of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors has been systematically studied in a broad spectral range from near ultra-violet to near infrared radiation. Detectors were made from NbN films on sapphire substrates and had thicknesses between 4 and 12 nm. The gradual reduction of the quantum efficiency with increasing wavelength is caused by a crossover from the hot-spot to the vortex detection scenario. For thicker films the wavelength demarcating the two regimes shifts to shorter wavelengths.