Single-Photon Detectors on Arbitrary Photonic Substrates
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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
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Characterization of High Speed Optical and Magnetic Interactions in Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors
Single-photon detectors are essential tools for quantum photonics. The ideal single photon detector would exhibit a quantum efficiency (QE) of 100% (i.e. no false negatives), zero dark photon counts per second (i.e. no false positives), zero dead time (i.e. the detector is capable of detecting one photon immediately after another), and zero jitter (i.e. the electrical signal produced by the detector perfectly reproduces the timing of the input photon signal). Commercially available avalanche photodiodes (APDs) have generally performed reasonably well for visible wavelengths but they perform poorly at longer wavelengths. For wavelengths spanning the near- ultraviolet (UV) to the mid- infrared (IR), superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) can exhibit quantum efficiencies exceeding 90% with dark count rates and timing jitter roughly an order of magnitude less than is typically seen in APDs. While SNSPDSs are now commercially available from several small businesses, fundamental questions about the nature of photon interactions with superconducting nanostructures remain.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Waveform analysis of a large-area superconducting nanowire single photon detector
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) are typically used as single-mode-fiber-coupled single-pixel detectors, but large area detectors are increasingly critical for applications ranging from microscopy to free-space quantum communications. However, the long meander-line length of such large-area SNSPDs results in a proportionately large kinetic inductance that affects the waveform generated by the device. Here, we explore changes in the rising edge of the readout pulse for a single-pixel large-area SNSPD as a function of the optical spot size on the detector and compare to the rising edge of the dark-count waveform. We observe a bimodal distribution of bright-count rise times and show that the probability of a slow rise time increases in the limit of large spot sizes, indicative of a position sensitive response. Additionally, in the limit of low bias currents, the dark-count readout pulse is most similar to the large spot-size bright-count readout pulse, which suggests that dark counts arise from locations spanning the device. Overall, these results are consistent with a simple model of traveling microwave modes excited by single photons incident at varying positions along the length of the nanowire.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Unconventional Applications of Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are becoming a dominant technology in quantum optics and quantum communication, primarily because of their low timing jitter and capability to detect individual low-energy photons with high quantum efficiencies. However, other desirable characteristics, such as high detection rates, operation in cryogenic and high magnetic field environments, or high-efficiency detection of charged particles, are underrepresented in literature, potentially leading to a lack of interest in other fields that might benefit from this technology. We review the progress in use of superconducting nanowire technology in photon and particle detection outside of the usual areas of physics, with emphasis on the potential use in ongoing and future experiments in nuclear and high energy physics.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Nanoscale functionalized superconducting transport channels as photon detectors
Herein, single-photon detectors have typically consisted of macroscopic materials where both the photon absorption and transduction to an electrical signal happen. Newly proposed designs suggest that large arrays of nanoscale detectors could provide improved performance in addition to decoupling the absorption and transduction processes. Here we study the properties of such a detector consisting of a nanoscale superconducting (SC) transport channel functionalized by a photon absorber. We explore two detection mechanisms based on photoinduced electrostatic gating and magnetic effects. To this end we model the narrow channel as a one-dimensional atomic chain and use a self-consistent Keldysh-Nambu Green's function formalism to describe nonequilibrium effects and SC phenomena. We consider cases where the photon creates electrostatic and magnetic changes in the absorber, as well as devices with strong and weak coupling to the metal leads. Our results indicate that the most promising case is when the SC channel is weakly coupled to the leads and in the presence of a background magnetic field, where photoexcitation of a magnetic molecule can trigger a SC-to-normal transition in the channel that leads to a change in the device current several times larger than in the case of a normal-phase channel device.
1-dimensional systems↗
Radiation-Induced Dark Counts for Silicon Single-Photon Detectors in Space
Single-photon detectors operating on satellites for use in a quantum communications network can incur large dark-count-rate increases from the natural radiation environment of space. Displacement damage to the material lattice of a detector from the ionizing radiation can result in a permanent dark-count increase in the detector. In this work, we analyze the radiation-induced dark-count rate of a silicon single-photon avalanche diode onboard a satellite at different orbiting altitudes, as well as, the additional radiation from a nuclear-disturbed environment caused by a high-altitude nuclear explosion. For detectors on low Earth orbit satellites, protons are the biggest source of radiation damage and are best mitigated by choosing an orbit that minimizes exposure when passing through the South Atlantic Anomaly and Polar Cusps. Detectors on medium Earth orbit and geostationary orbit satellites, if shielded by more than 10 mm of aluminum, provide the best platform in terms of the least amount of radiation damage to the detectors. In the event of a high-altitude nuclear explosion, the artificial radiation belts produced by the explosion will cause too much damage to silicon single-photon detectors on low Earth orbit satellites and render them unfit for quantum communications in less than a day. Higher orbit satellites will only suffer minor dark-count-rate increases from the artificial radiation belts.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
UV hybrid photon detector based on GaN photocathodes and Si low gain avalanche diode
Photon detectors featuring single-photon sensitivity play a crucial role in various scientific domains, including high-energy physics, astronomy, and quantum optics. Fast response time, high quantum efficiency, and minimal dark counts are the characteristics that render them ideal candidates for detecting individual photons with exceptional signal-to-noise ratios, at frequencies in the range of hundreds of MHz. Here, in this study, we report on our first design and operational results on a Hybrid Photon Detector (HPD) that combines the high quantum efficiency of a Gallium Nitride (GaN) photocathode and the low noise characteristics of a Si-based Low-Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD). This hybrid detection scheme has the potential to reach single-photon detection sensitivity with high quantum efficiency, low noise levels and capable of operating at hundreds of MHz repetition rates.
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
A measurement of absolute efficiency of the ARAPUCA photon detector in liquid argon
In the Fall of 2017, two photon detector designs for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Far Detector were installed and tested in the TallBo liquid argon (LAr) cryostat at the Proton Assembly (PAB) facility, Fermilab. The designs include two light bars developed at Indiana University and a photon detector based on the ARAPUCA light trap engineered by Colorado State University and Fermilab. The performance of these devices is determined by analyzing 8 weeks of cosmic ray data. The current paper focuses solely on the ARAPUCA device as the performance of the light bars will be reported separately. The article briefly describes the ARAPUCA concept, the TallBo setup, and focuses on data analysis and results.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Lithium-niobate-on-insulator waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors
Here, we demonstrate waveguide-integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors on thin-film lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 , LN). Using a 250 μm-long NbN superconducting nanowire lithographically defined on top of a 125 μm-long LN nanowaveguide, an on-chip detection efficiency of 46% is realized with simultaneous high performance in dark count rates and timing jitter. As LN possesses high χ (2) second-order nonlinear and electro-optic properties, an efficient single-photon detector on thin-film LN opens up the possibility to construct a small-scale fully integrated quantum photonic chip, which includes single-photon sources, filters, tunable quantum gates, and detectors.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Superconducting nanowires as high-rate photon detectors in strong magnetic fields
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are capable of single-photon detection across a large spectral range, with near unity detection efficiency, picosecond timing jitter, and sub-10 µm position resolution at rates as high as 10 9 counts/s. In an effort to bring this technology into nuclear physics experiments, we fabricate Niobium Nitride nanowire detectors using novel material preparation methods and test their performance in strong magnetic fields. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these devices are capable of detection of 400 nm wavelength photons with saturated internal quantum efficiency at liquid helium temperatures and in magnetic fields potentially up to 8 T at high rates and with nearly zero dark counts.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Production and testing of the large-area photon detector ArCLight
Compact large-area dielectric photon detectors that ensure modular noble liquid detectors can sense scintillation light signals for triggering and reconstruction purposes with minimal impact to the overall target volume. ArCLight is a small-volume, sizeable sensitive-area detector that consists of a light trap covered in a thin layer of TPB that can be placed inside a time projection chamber's electric field. These sensors are used in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Near Detector liquid argon (DUNE ND-LAr). They are constructed and tested at the University of Bern and will be deployed in the prototype experiment ProtoDUNE-ND. The talk discusses the details of assembling ArCLights, the quality control methods, and the test studies done with LEDs to assess their performance.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Free-space coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with low dark counts
A free-space coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with high efficiency at 1550 nm, sub-0.1 Hz dark count rate, and sub-15 ps timing jitter is demonstrated.
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
Nuclear Disturbed Environmental Effects on Space-based Single Photon Detectors
We consider space-based radiation damage and its cumulative effect on detector dark counts for satellite-based silicon single-photon detectors, arising from natural radiation as well as from a nuclear disturbed environment caused by a high-altitude nuclear explosion.
Wilson, Brandon↗
Photon number resolving detection with a single-photon detector and adaptive storage loop
Abstract Photon number resolving (PNR) measurements are beneficial or even necessary for many applications in quantum optics. Unfortunately, PNR detectors are usually large, slow, expensive, and difficult to operate. However, if the input signal is multiplexed, photon ‘click’ detectors, that lack an intrinsic PNR capability, can still be used to realize photon number resolution. Here, we investigate the operation of a single click detector, together with a storage line with tunable outcoupling. Using adaptive feedback to adjust the storage outcoupling rate, the dynamic range of the detector can in certain situations be extended by up to an order of magnitude relative to a purely passive setup. An adaptive approach can thus allow for photon number variance below the quantum shot noise limit under a wider range of conditions than using a passive multiplexing approach. This can enable applications in quantum enhanced metrology and quantum computing.
Sullivan, Nicholas M. (ORCID:0000000248447296)↗
Demonstration of sub-3 ps temporal resolution with a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector
Knowledge about detection latency provides a guideline to reduce the timing jitter of niobium nitride superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. A timing jitter of 2.6 ps at visible wavelength and 4.3 ps at 1,550 nm is achieved.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
Data for "Understanding multiscale disorder in superconducting nanowire single photon detectors"
This dataset addresses DC transport, dark-count measurements, and bias-dependent microwave transmission spectroscopy of superconducting nanowire. This publication includes the raw and processed data to produce figures in the paper "Understanding multiscale disorder in superconducting nanowire single photon detectors" (Sarkar et al., 2026).
Sarkar, Nirjhar [Oak Ridge National Laboratory] (O↗
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector enhanced near-infrared II portable confocal microscopy for tissue imaging with indocyanine green
In this Letter a novel, to our knowledge, approach for near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence portable confocal microscopy is introduced, aiming to enhance fluorescence imaging of biological samples in the NIR-II window. By integrating a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) into a confocal microscopy, we have significantly leveraged the detection efficiency of the NIR-II fluorescence signal from indocyanine green (ICG), an FDA-approved dye known for its NIR-II fluorescence capabilities. The SNSPD, characterized by its extremely low dark count rate and optimized NIR system detection efficiency, enables the excitation of ICG with 1 mW and the capture of low-light fluorescence signals from deep regions (up to 512 µm). Consequently, our technique was able to produce high-resolution images of bio samples with a superior signal-to-noise ratio, making a substantial advancement in the field of fluorescence microscopy and offering a promising opportunity for future clinical study.
Liu, Yifan (ORCID:0000000328877704)↗
Photon detector response function methodology using MCNP and shift hybrid radiation transport code for wide-area contamination assay applications
Here, radiation transport modeling using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport code and Monte Carlo code, Shift, were employed to model detector responses for a variety of wide-area photon contamination scenarios. In this study, 2" × 2" and 3" × 3" cylindrical NaI(Tl) scintillation detector configurations at source detector-distances of 0.5 cm, 1 cm, 2.54 cm, 10 cm, and 30 cm were modeled. Media of soil, concrete, and steel were evaluated for contamination depths ranging from surface to a depth of an infinite thickness in each medium for photon energies ranging from 20 keV to 3 MeV, which correspond to the energies that current detectors can discern. Monoenergetic photon surface contamination detector responses for each of the media, source–detector distances, and detectors were estimated using MCNP v6.2. Shift was harnessed for improved variance reduction of particle transport in highly attenuating media to obtain average cell fluxes in the two MCNP NaI(Tl) scintillation detector configurations. Average cell flux values in Shift were coupled with detector responses from MCNP to convert average cell flux in a void to energy distribution of pulses in the NaI(Tl) scintillation detector crystal of interest. An optimized detector response function methodology was developed by coupling the MCNP radiation transport method with the Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) hybrid radiation transport method built into Shift to significantly decrease the runtime of thousands of MCNP pulse height simulations. The methodology may be utilized to quickly and accurately facilitate the assessment of a broad range of wide-area environmental contamination assay and decommissioning cleanup applications.
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗