21 research outputs found
Demonstration of a Thermally Coupled Row-Column SNSPD Imaging Array
While single-pixel superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have demonstrated remarkable efficiency and timing performance from the UV to near-IR, scaling these devices to large imaging arrays remains challenging. Here, we propose a new SNSPD multiplexing system using thermal coupling and detection correlations between two photosensitive layers of an array. Using this architecture with the channels of one layer oriented in rows and the second layer in columns, we demonstrate imaging capability in 16-pixel arrays with accurate spot tracking at the few-photon level. We also explore the performance trade-offs of orienting the top layer nanowires parallel and perpendicular to the bottom layer. The thermally coupled row-column scheme is readily able to scale to the kilopixel size with existing readout systems and, when combined with other multiplexing architectures, has the potential to enable megapixel scale SNSPD imaging arrays
Demonstration of a Thermally Coupled Row-Column SNSPD Imaging Array
While single-pixel superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have demonstrated remarkable efficiency and timing performance from the UV to near-IR, scaling these devices to large imaging arrays remains challenging. Here, we propose a new SNSPD multiplexing system using thermal coupling and detection correlations between two photosensitive layers of an array. Using this architecture with the channels of one layer oriented in rows and the second layer in columns, we demonstrate imaging capability in 16-pixel arrays with accurate spot tracking at the few-photon level. We also explore the performance trade-offs of orienting the top layer nanowires parallel and perpendicular to the bottom layer. The thermally coupled row-column scheme is readily able to scale to the kilopixel size with existing readout systems and, when combined with other multiplexing architectures, has the potential to enable megapixel scale SNSPD imaging arrays
The thermally-coupled imager: A scalable readout architecture for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors
Although superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are a
promising technology for quantum optics, metrology, and astronomy, they
currently lack a readout architecture that is scalable to the megapixel regime
and beyond. In this work, we have designed and demonstrated such an
architecture for SNSPDs, called the thermally-coupled imager (TCI). The TCI
uses a combination of time-of-flight delay lines and thermal coupling to create
a scalable architecture that can scale to large array sizes, allows neighboring
detectors to operate independently, and requires only four microwave readout
lines to operate no matter the size of the array. We give an overview of how
the architecture functions, and demonstrate a proof-of-concept
imaging array. The array was able to image a free-space focused spot at 373 nm,
count at 9.6 Mcps, and resolve photon location with greater than 99.83\%
distinguishability
Multilayered Heater Nanocryotron: A Superconducting-Nanowire-Based Thermal Switch
We demonstrate a multilayer nanoscale cryogenic heater-based switch (M-hTron) that uses a normal-metal heater overlapping a thin-film superconductor separated by a thin insulating layer. The M-hTron eliminates leakage current found in three-terminal superconducting switches and applies heat locally to the superconductor, reducing the energy required to switch the device. Modeling using the energy-balance equations and the acoustic mismatch model demonstrates reasonable agreement with experiment. The M-hTron is a promising device for digital superconducting electronics that require high fan-out and offers the possibility of enhancing readout for superconducting-nanowire single-photon detectors
Mid-infrared timing jitter of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors
Detector timing jitter is a key parameter in advanced photon counting applications. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors
offer the fastest timing jitter in the visible to telecom wavelength range and have demonstrated single-photon sensitivity in the mid-infrared
spectral region. Here, we report on timing jitter in a NbTiN nanowire device from 1.56 to 3.5 lm wavelength, achieving a FWHM jitter
from 13.2 to 30.3 ps. This study has implications for emerging time-correlated single-photon counting applications in the mid-infrared
spectral region
Large active-area superconducting microwire detector array with single-photon sensitivity in the near-infrared
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the
highest-performing technology for time-resolved single-photon counting from the
UV to the near-infrared. The recent discovery of single-photon sensitivity in
micrometer-scale superconducting wires is a promising pathway to explore for
large active area devices with application to dark matter searches and
fundamental physics experiments. We present 8-pixel superconducting
microwire single photon detectors (SMSPDs) with -wide wires
fabricated from WSi and MoSi films of various stoichiometries using
electron-beam and optical lithography. Devices made from all materials and
fabrication techniques show saturated internal detection efficiency at 1064 nm
in at least one pixel, and the best performing device made from silicon-rich
WSi shows single-photon sensitivity in all 8 pixels and saturated internal
detection efficiency in 6/8 pixels. This detector is the largest reported
active-area SMSPD or SNSPD with near-IR sensitivity published to date, and the
first report of an SMSPD array. By further optimizing the photolithography
techniques presented in this work, a viable pathway exists to realize larger
devices with -scale active area and beyond