97 research outputs found
Energy-gap dynamics of superconducting NbN thin films studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy
Using time-domain Terahertz spectroscopy we performed direct studies of the
photoinduced suppression and recovery of the superconducting gap in a
conventional BCS superconductor NbN. Both processes are found to be strongly
temperature and excitation density dependent. The analysis of the data with the
established phenomenological Rothwarf-Taylor model enabled us to determine the
bare quasiparticle recombination rate, the Cooper pair-breaking rate and the
electron-phonon coupling constant, \lambda = 1.1 +/- 0.1, which is in excellent
agreement with theoretical estimates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; final version, accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev. Let
Superconducting nanowire photon number resolving detector at telecom wavelength
The optical-to-electrical conversion, which is the basis of optical
detectors, can be linear or nonlinear. When high sensitivities are needed
single-photon detectors (SPDs) are used, which operate in a strongly nonlinear
mode, their response being independent of the photon number. Nevertheless,
photon-number resolving (PNR) detectors are needed, particularly in quantum
optics, where n-photon states are routinely produced. In quantum communication,
the PNR functionality is key to many protocols for establishing, swapping and
measuring entanglement, and can be used to detect photon-number-splitting
attacks. A linear detector with single-photon sensitivity can also be used for
measuring a temporal waveform at extremely low light levels, e.g. in
long-distance optical communications, fluorescence spectroscopy, optical
time-domain reflectometry. We demonstrate here a PNR detector based on parallel
superconducting nanowires and capable of counting up to 4 photons at
telecommunication wavelengths, with ultralow dark count rate and high counting
frequency
Single photonics at telecom wavelengths using nanowire superconducting detectors
Single photonic applications - such as quantum key distribution - rely on the
transmission of single photons, and require the ultimate sensitivity that an
optical detector can achieve. Single-photon detectors must convert the energy
of an optical pulse containing a single photon into a measurable electrical
signal. We report on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors
(SSPDs) with specifications that exceed those of avalanche photodiodes (APDs),
operating at telecommunication wavelength, in sensitivity, temporal resolution
and repetition frequency. The improved performance is demonstrated by measuring
the intensity correlation function g(2)(t) of single-photon states at 1300nm
produced by single semiconductor quantum dots (QDs).Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures - submitted 12 OCT 200
Spectral dependency of superconducting single photon detectors
International audienceWe investigate the effect of varying both incoming optical wavelength and width of NbN nanowires on the superconducting single photondetectors (SSPD) detection efficiency. The SSPD are current biased close to critical value and temperature fixed at 4.2 K, far from transition. The experimental results are found to verify with a good accuracy predictions based on the "hot spot model," whose size scales with the absorbed photon energy. With larger optical power inducing multiphoton detection regime, the same scaling law remains valid, up to the three-photon regime. We demonstrate the validity of applying a limited number of measurements and using such a simple model to reasonably predict any SSPD behavior among a collection of nanowire device widths at different photon wavelengths. These results set the basis for designing efficient single photondetectors operating in the infrared (2-5 μm range)
Quantum Communication
Quantum communication, and indeed quantum information in general, has changed
the way we think about quantum physics. In 1984 and 1991, the first protocol
for quantum cryptography and the first application of quantum non-locality,
respectively, attracted a diverse field of researchers in theoretical and
experimental physics, mathematics and computer science. Since then we have seen
a fundamental shift in how we understand information when it is encoded in
quantum systems. We review the current state of research and future directions
in this new field of science with special emphasis on quantum key distribution
and quantum networks.Comment: Submitted version, 8 pg (2 cols) 5 fig
Ground-based terahertz CO spectroscopy towards Orion
Using a superconductive hot-electron bolometer heterodyne receiver on the 10-m Heinrich Hertz Telescope on Mount Graham, Arizona, we have obtained velocity-resolved 1.037 THz CO (J = 9 → 8) spectra toward several positions along the Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC-1) ridge. We confirm the general results of prior observations of high-J CO lines that show that the high temperature, T_(kin) ≥ 130 K, high density molecular gas, N ≥ 10^6 cm^(-3), is quite extended, found along a ~ 4' region centered on BN/KL. However, our observations have significantly improved angular resolution, and with a beam size of θ_(FWHP) we are able to spatially and kinematically discriminate the emission originating in the extended quiescent ridge from the very strong and broadened emission originating in the compact molecular outflow. The ridge emission very close to the BN/KL region appears to originate from two distinct clouds along the line of sight with v_(LSR) ≈ +6(1)kms^(-1) and ≈ +10(1)km s^(-1). The former component dominates the emission to the south of BN/KL and the latter to the north, with a turnover point coincident with or near BN/KL. Our evidence precludes a simple rotation of the inner ridge and lends support to a model in which there are multiple molecular clouds along the line of sight towards the Orion ridge
Testing foundations of quantum mechanics with photons
The foundational ideas of quantum mechanics continue to give rise to
counterintuitive theories and physical effects that are in conflict with a
classical description of Nature. Experiments with light at the single photon
level have historically been at the forefront of tests of fundamental quantum
theory and new developments in photonics engineering continue to enable new
experiments. Here we review recent photonic experiments to test two
foundational themes in quantum mechanics: wave-particle duality, central to
recent complementarity and delayed-choice experiments; and Bell nonlocality
where recent theoretical and technological advances have allowed all
controversial loopholes to be separately addressed in different photonics
experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, published as a Nature Physics Insight review
articl
Improvement of infrared single-photon detectors absorptance by integrated plasmonic structures
Plasmonic structures open novel avenues in photodetector development. Optimized illumination configurations are reported to improve p-polarized light absorptance in superconducting-nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) comprising short- and long-periodic niobium-nitride (NbN) stripe-patterns. In OC-SNSPDs consisting of ~quarter-wavelength dielectric layer closed by a gold reflector the highest absorptance is attainable at perpendicular incidence onto NbN patterns in P-orientation due to E-field concentration at the bottom of nano-cavities. In NCAI-SNSPDs integrated with nano-cavity-arrays consisting of vertical and horizontal gold segments off-axis illumination in S-orientation results in polar-angle-independent perfect absorptance via collective resonances in short-periodic design, while in long-periodic NCAI-SNSPDs grating-coupled surface waves promote EM-field transportation to the NbN stripes and result in local absorptance maxima. In NCDAI-SNSPDs integrated with nano-cavity-deflector-array consisting of longer vertical gold segments large absorptance maxima appear in 3p-periodic designs due to E-field enhancement via grating-coupled surface waves synchronized with the NbN stripes in S-orientation, which enable to compensate fill-factor-related retrogression.United States. Dept. of Energy (Frontier Research Centers
- …