We present a new type of a quantum detector, namely, the superconducting single-photon detector (SSPD), and demonstrate that it can be implemented in various single-photon counting applications, ranging from the visible light to near-infrared telecommunication wavelengths. We describe the physics of the photoresponse of a superconducting nanostripe to a flux of single optical photons and present the operation principle of SSPDs, stressing that, currently, they significantly outperform any competing, research or commercial devices in terms of their quantum efficiency, counting rate, jitter, and unwanted dark counts. SSPDs integrated with a cryogenic HEMT read-out circuit can provide some level of both the energy and number resolution of an unknown incident photon flux, making them uniquely suitable for various photon sensing applications.

Date Published: 14 May 2019
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 11054, Superconductivity and Particle Accelerators 2018, 110540F (14 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2525536

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11054:
Superconductivity and Particle Accelerators 2018
Dariusz Bocian; Ryszard S. Romaniuk, Editor(s)