Superconducting microstrip single-photon detector with system detection efficiency over 90% at 1550 nm
Guang-Zhao Xu, Wei-Jun Zhang, Li-Xing You, Jia-Min Xiong, Xing-Qu Sun, Hao Huang, Xin Ou, Yi-Ming Pan, Chao-Lin Lv, Hao Li, Zhen Wang, Xiao-Ming Xie
Abstract
Generally, a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) is composed of wires with a typical width of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" id="m1"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo form="prefix">∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>100</mml:mn> <mml:mtext> </mml:mtext> <mml:mi>nm</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . Recent studies have found that superconducting strips with a micrometer-scale width can also detect single photons. Compared with the SNSPD covering the same area, the superconducting microstrip single-photon detector (SMSPD) has smaller kinetic inductance, higher working current, and lower requirements in fabrication accuracy, providing potential applications in the development of ultralarge active area detectors. However, the study of SMSPD is still in its infancy, and the realization of its high-performance and practical use remains an open question. This study demonstrates a NbN SMSPD with a nearly saturated system detection efficiency (SDE) of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" id="m2"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo form="prefix">∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>92.2</mml:mn> <mml:mi>%</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at a dark count rate of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" id="m3"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo form="prefix">∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>200</mml:mn> <mml:mtext> </mml:mtext> <mml:mi>cps</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , a polarization sensitivity of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" id="m4"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo form="prefix">∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1.03</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , and a minimum timing jitter of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" id="m5"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo form="prefix">∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>48</mml:mn> <mml:mtext> </mml:mtext> <mml:mi>ps</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nm when coupled with a single-mode fiber and operated at 0.84 K. Furthermore, the detector’s SDE is over 70% when operated at a 2.1 K closed-cycle cryocooler.