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Implementation of a Reference Interferometer for Nanodetection
Published on: April 26, 2014
Compactly packaged superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with an optical cavity for multichannel system
Shigehito Miki1, Masanori Takeda, Mikio Fujiwara
1Kansai Advanced Research Center, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, 588-2, Iwaoka, Iwaoka-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2492, Japan. s-miki@nict.go.jp
Optics Express
|January 7, 2010
Summary
We created optical cavity superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (OC-SNSPDs) for multichannel systems. These detectors achieve high detection efficiency by reducing substrate thickness and optimizing light coupling.
Area of Science:
- Quantum optics
- Solid-state physics
- Photonics
Background:
- Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are crucial for quantum information processing.
- Efficient light coupling is essential for multichannel SNSPD systems.
- Previous SNSPD designs faced limitations in coupling efficiency and system integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel optical cavity superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (OC-SNSPDs) for multichannel applications.
- To enhance light coupling efficiency for improved SNSPD performance.
- To demonstrate the effectiveness of substrate thinning and optical cavity integration.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of OC-SNSPDs with reduced substrate thickness (400 to 45 microm).
- Integration of devices into compact fiber-coupled packages.
- Measurement of detection efficiency (DE) at different wavelengths (1550 nm and 1310 nm).
- Estimation of optical coupling efficiency.
Main Results:
- Achieved approximately 98% optical coupling efficiency onto a 15 x 15 microm2 nanowire area.
- Demonstrated DEs of 9.5% at 1550 nm and 25% at 1310 nm for NbN OC-SNSPDs.
- Maintained a low dark-count rate of 100 c/s.
Conclusions:
- Substrate thinning and optical cavity integration significantly enhance light coupling in SNSPDs.
- The developed OC-SNSPDs are suitable for high-performance multichannel systems.
- This work advances the development of efficient single-photon detection technologies.

