Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 71: Superconductivity: Cryodetectors and Cryotechnique

TT 71.1: Talk

Thursday, March 23, 2017, 15:00–15:15, HSZ 201

Photon number resolving superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors — •Ekkehart Schmidt¹, Eric Reutter^1,2, Hannes Rotzinger², Konstantin Ilin¹, Alexey V. Ustinov², and Michael Siegel¹ — ¹Institut für Mikro- und Nanoelektronische Systeme (IMS), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Herzstraße 16, 76187 Karlsruhe, Deutschland — ²Physikalisches Institut (PHI), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Wolfgang-Gaede-Str. 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Deutschland

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are attractive for a variety of applications like integrated photonics, quantum key distribution and deep space communication. They have a high detection efficiency, single photon sensitivity, low dark count rate and very good time resolution but they lack intrinsic photon number resolution (PNR). By splitting of the SNSPD in several pixels using integrated shunts [1] quasi-PNR can be achieved, thereby allowing amplitude multiplexing of detected number of photons. We developed technology and demonstrated quasi-PNR functionality of SNSPDs made of 4.9 nm thick and 80 nm wide NbN nanowires on sapphire, which were shunted by integrated palladium resistors with a resistance of ~20 Ohms. Optical excitation of these detectors with an SWIR fs-laser clearly shows a power-depending photon statistic. Further details on the study of operation and optical response of quasi-PNR SNSPD will be presented and discussed.

[1]S. Jahanmirinejad et al. Opt. Express 20 2012, 5017-5028