Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) with a composite optical structure composed of phase-grating and optical cavity structures are designed to enhance both the system detection efficiency and t...Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) with a composite optical structure composed of phase-grating and optical cavity structures are designed to enhance both the system detection efficiency and the response bandwidth. Numerical simulation by the finite-difference time-domain method shows that the photon absorption capacity of SNSPDs with a composite optical structure can be enhanced significantly by adjusting the parameters of the phase-grating and optical cavity structures at multiple frequency bands. The absorption capacity of the superconducting nanowires reaches 70%, 72%, 60.73%, 61.7%, 41.2%, and 46.5% at wavelengths of 684, 850, 732, 924, 1256, and 1426nm, respectively. The use of a composite optical structure reduces the total filling factor of superconducting nanowires to only 0.25, decreases the kinetic inductance of SNSPDs, and improves the count rates.展开更多
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent detection performance;however, the underlying physics of the detection process is still unclear.I...Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent detection performance;however, the underlying physics of the detection process is still unclear.In this study, we investigate the wavelength dependence of the intrinsic detection efficiency(IDE) for NbN SNSPDs.We fabricate various NbN SNSPDs with linewidths ranging from 30 nm to 140 nm.Then, for each detector, the IDE curves as a function of bias current for different incident photon wavelengths of 510–1700 nm are obtained.From the IDE curves, the relations between photon energy and bias current at a certain IDE are extracted.The results exhibit clear nonlinear energy–current relations for the NbN detectors, indicating that a detection model only considering quasiparticle diffusion is unsuitable for the meander-type NbN-based SNSPDs.Our work provides additional experimental data on SNSPD detection mechanism and may serve as an interesting reference for further investigation.展开更多
We present a low-power inductorless wideband differential cryogenic amplifier using a 0.13-μm Si Ge Bi CMOS process for a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector(SNSPD).With a shunt-shunt feedback and capacit...We present a low-power inductorless wideband differential cryogenic amplifier using a 0.13-μm Si Ge Bi CMOS process for a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector(SNSPD).With a shunt-shunt feedback and capacitive coupling structure,theoretical analysis and simulations were undertaken,highlighting the relationship of the amplifier gain with the tunable design parameters of the circuit.In this way,the design and optimization flexibility can be increased,and a required gain can be achieved even without an accurate cryogenic device model.To realize a flat terminal impedance over the frequency of interest,an RC shunt compensation structure was employed,improving the amplifier’s closed-loop stability and suppressing the amplifier overshoot.The S-parameters and transient performance were measured at room temperature(300 K)and cryogenic temperature(4.2 K).With good input and output matching,the measurement results showed that the amplifier achieved a 21-d B gain with a 3-d B bandwidth of 1.13 GHz at 300 K.At 4.2 K,the gain of the amplifier can be tuned from 15 to 24 d B,achieving a 3-d B bandwidth spanning from 120 k Hz to 1.3 GHz and consuming only 3.1 m W.Excluding the chip pads,the amplifier chip core area was only about 0.073 mm^(2).展开更多
The dark count is one of the key physical issues for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs)that limits various applications for optical quantum information and classical optics.When the bias current ...The dark count is one of the key physical issues for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs)that limits various applications for optical quantum information and classical optics.When the bias current approaches the switching current of SNSPDs,the dark count is actually dominated by the intrinsic dark counts(iDCs).However,the origin of iDCs and its relation to constrictions remains unclear for practical SNSPDs.We herein systematically characterize the iDCs of the SNSPDs with and without artificial geometric constrictions by applying the differential readout method.For these devices with constrictions,we have observed distinct Gaussian distributions in the temporal distribution of iDCs,in which the time difference between the distributions is consistent with the geometric distance between constrictions,and the rates of iDCs produced by each constriction are in good agreement with constrictions'widths.With respect to practical SNSPDs,surprisingly,we also observe several Gaussian distributions in the temporal domain and it shows no significant dependence on the devices’sizes,demonstrating that the iDCs of SNSPDs are mainly dominated by a few specific constrictions.展开更多
We report a superconducting nanowire single‐photon detector(SNSPD)array aiming for a near‐infrared 1550‐nm wavelength that consists of 32×32 nanowire pixels and an area of 0.96 mm×0.96 mm.Unlike most repo...We report a superconducting nanowire single‐photon detector(SNSPD)array aiming for a near‐infrared 1550‐nm wavelength that consists of 32×32 nanowire pixels and an area of 0.96 mm×0.96 mm.Unlike most reported large‐scale SNSPD arrays with amorphous films,NbN superconducting nanowires are employed in our array,which allows the detector operation at 2.3 K provided by a compact two‐stage Gifford–McMahon cryocooler.Thermally coupled row–column multiplexing is employed in our arrays to avoid current redistribution and loss of electrical signal occurring in the electrically coupled row–column architecture.The fabricated detector array shows a pixel yield of 94%and maximal intrinsic efficiencies of 77%and 96%at 1550 nm and 405 nm,respectively.The timing jitter and the thermal coupling probability are also investigated.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China under Grant Nos 2011CBA00100 and 2011CBA00200the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 11227904 and 61101012+1 种基金the National High-Technology ResearchDevelopment Program of China under Grant No 2011AA010204the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Techniques for Manipulating Electromagnetic Waves
文摘Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) with a composite optical structure composed of phase-grating and optical cavity structures are designed to enhance both the system detection efficiency and the response bandwidth. Numerical simulation by the finite-difference time-domain method shows that the photon absorption capacity of SNSPDs with a composite optical structure can be enhanced significantly by adjusting the parameters of the phase-grating and optical cavity structures at multiple frequency bands. The absorption capacity of the superconducting nanowires reaches 70%, 72%, 60.73%, 61.7%, 41.2%, and 46.5% at wavelengths of 684, 850, 732, 924, 1256, and 1426nm, respectively. The use of a composite optical structure reduces the total filling factor of superconducting nanowires to only 0.25, decreases the kinetic inductance of SNSPDs, and improves the count rates.
基金Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2017YFA0304000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.61671438 and 61827823)+2 种基金the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality,China(Grant No.16JC1400402)Program of Shanghai Academic/Technology Research Leader,China(Grant No.18XD1404600)the Joint Research Fund in Astronomy(Grant No.U1631240)under Cooperative Agreement between the NSFC and the Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent detection performance;however, the underlying physics of the detection process is still unclear.In this study, we investigate the wavelength dependence of the intrinsic detection efficiency(IDE) for NbN SNSPDs.We fabricate various NbN SNSPDs with linewidths ranging from 30 nm to 140 nm.Then, for each detector, the IDE curves as a function of bias current for different incident photon wavelengths of 510–1700 nm are obtained.From the IDE curves, the relations between photon energy and bias current at a certain IDE are extracted.The results exhibit clear nonlinear energy–current relations for the NbN detectors, indicating that a detection model only considering quasiparticle diffusion is unsuitable for the meander-type NbN-based SNSPDs.Our work provides additional experimental data on SNSPD detection mechanism and may serve as an interesting reference for further investigation.
基金Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2018YFE0205900)the National Science and Technology Major Project of China(No.2018ZX03001008)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province,China(No.BK20180368)。
文摘We present a low-power inductorless wideband differential cryogenic amplifier using a 0.13-μm Si Ge Bi CMOS process for a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector(SNSPD).With a shunt-shunt feedback and capacitive coupling structure,theoretical analysis and simulations were undertaken,highlighting the relationship of the amplifier gain with the tunable design parameters of the circuit.In this way,the design and optimization flexibility can be increased,and a required gain can be achieved even without an accurate cryogenic device model.To realize a flat terminal impedance over the frequency of interest,an RC shunt compensation structure was employed,improving the amplifier’s closed-loop stability and suppressing the amplifier overshoot.The S-parameters and transient performance were measured at room temperature(300 K)and cryogenic temperature(4.2 K).With good input and output matching,the measurement results showed that the amplifier achieved a 21-d B gain with a 3-d B bandwidth of 1.13 GHz at 300 K.At 4.2 K,the gain of the amplifier can be tuned from 15 to 24 d B,achieving a 3-d B bandwidth spanning from 120 k Hz to 1.3 GHz and consuming only 3.1 m W.Excluding the chip pads,the amplifier chip core area was only about 0.073 mm^(2).
基金the National Key R&D Program of China(2017YFA0304000)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.61971408 and 61827823)+2 种基金Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2019SHZDZX01)Shanghai Rising-Star Program(20QA1410900)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2020241,2021230).
文摘The dark count is one of the key physical issues for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors(SNSPDs)that limits various applications for optical quantum information and classical optics.When the bias current approaches the switching current of SNSPDs,the dark count is actually dominated by the intrinsic dark counts(iDCs).However,the origin of iDCs and its relation to constrictions remains unclear for practical SNSPDs.We herein systematically characterize the iDCs of the SNSPDs with and without artificial geometric constrictions by applying the differential readout method.For these devices with constrictions,we have observed distinct Gaussian distributions in the temporal distribution of iDCs,in which the time difference between the distributions is consistent with the geometric distance between constrictions,and the rates of iDCs produced by each constriction are in good agreement with constrictions'widths.With respect to practical SNSPDs,surprisingly,we also observe several Gaussian distributions in the temporal domain and it shows no significant dependence on the devices’sizes,demonstrating that the iDCs of SNSPDs are mainly dominated by a few specific constrictions.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61971408,61827823,12033007)Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2019SHZDZX01)+2 种基金Shanghai Rising‐Star Program(20QA1410900)Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(2020241)for their financial supportShanghai Sailing Program(Grants No.21YF1455700).
文摘We report a superconducting nanowire single‐photon detector(SNSPD)array aiming for a near‐infrared 1550‐nm wavelength that consists of 32×32 nanowire pixels and an area of 0.96 mm×0.96 mm.Unlike most reported large‐scale SNSPD arrays with amorphous films,NbN superconducting nanowires are employed in our array,which allows the detector operation at 2.3 K provided by a compact two‐stage Gifford–McMahon cryocooler.Thermally coupled row–column multiplexing is employed in our arrays to avoid current redistribution and loss of electrical signal occurring in the electrically coupled row–column architecture.The fabricated detector array shows a pixel yield of 94%and maximal intrinsic efficiencies of 77%and 96%at 1550 nm and 405 nm,respectively.The timing jitter and the thermal coupling probability are also investigated.