Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have made a tremendous impact in recent years on a diverse array of research fields, by enabling researchers to access near unity system detection efficiency, fast count rates, and precise timing through commercial availability. Originally focused on discrete devices operating between the Near IR to Telecom wavelength regimes, the industry is expanding to the visible and mid-infrared domains while incorporating multi-detector structures and photon number resolving techniques. This talk will discuss developments at Quantum Opus in these areas as well as emerging applications in new fields for SNSPDs.
Many quantum applications will benefit significantly from photon number resolving detection. However, photon number resolving detectors have been largely experimental devices implemented in laboratory settings. Recent advances in superconducting nanowire device fabrication and readout techniques have enabled the implementation of photon number resolution in widely deployable commercial single-photon detection systems. We will discuss progress in implementing photon number resolved detection with commercially produced superconducting nanowire single photon detectors via spatial multiplexing of independently instrumented detector elements and photon number dependent rise-time changes in single-element nanowire devices.
High count rates (10’s to 100’s to 1000’s of MHz) and very precise timing (10’s of ps FWHM jitter or less) are two of the features which make superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors a revolutionary experimental and engineering tool. Both of these performance metrics also depend on the device bias current level. The maximum count rate is determined by how soon after detection the bias current recharges to the level required for maximum efficiency, while the timing jitter decreases with increased bias current even beyond level which yields maximum efficiency. For a device with a strong detection efficiency plateau, the bias current recharge can push the device into the regime of maximum efficiency at a fractional level of the current required to achieve the desired jitter. Here, we present an experimental analysis of this effect. These results should enable users to consider the trade-off between count rate and timing jitter for various experiments.
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