Broadband polarization insensitivity and high detection efficiency in high-fill-factor superconducting microwire single-photon detectors

Published

May 13, 2022

Author(s)

Dileep Reddy, Negar Otrooshi, Sae Woo Nam, Richard Mirin, Varun Verma

Abstract

Single-photon detection via absorption in current-biased nanoscale superconducting structures has become a preferred technology in quantum optics and related fields. Single-mode fiber packaged devices have seen new records set in detection efficiency, timing jitter, recovery times, and largest sustainable count rates. The popular approaches to decreasing polarization sensitivity have thus far been limited to introduction of geometrically symmetric nanowire meanders, such as spirals and fractals, in the active area. The constraints on bending radii, and by extension, fill factors, in such designs limits their maximum efficiency. The discovery of single-photon sensitivity in micrometer-scale superconducting wires enables novel meander patterns with no effective upper limit on fill factor. This work demonstrates simultaneous low-polarization sensitivity ( 1.02 ± 0.008 ) and high detection efficiency ( > 91% at 2e5 counts per second) across a 40 nm bandwidth centered at 1550 nm in 0.51µm wide microwire devices made of silicon-rich tungsten silicide, with a 0.91 fill factor in the active area.

Citation

Applied Physics Letters Photonics

Volume

7

Issue

5

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0088007

Local Download

Keywords

snspd, microwire, superconductor, optics, efficiency, near-infrared, NIR, single-photon, photon, detection, detector, efficiency, calibration, polarization, fractal, meander, fill-factor

Citation

Reddy, D. , Otrooshi, N. , Nam, S. , Mirin, R. and Verma, V. (2022), Broadband polarization insensitivity and high detection efficiency in high-fill-factor superconducting microwire single-photon detectors, Applied Physics Letters Photonics, [online], https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0088007, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=934105 (Accessed October 15, 2025)