A stochastic SPICE model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors and other nanowire devices

Published

January 10, 2019

Author(s)

Adam N. McCaughan, Sae Woo Nam, Dylan M. Oh

Abstract

Superconducting nanowire devices such as the superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) or nanocryotron (nTron) have a time-dependent stochasticity associated with them which depends on the current flowing through them. When modeling complex circuits made of several such devices (for instance, an array of SNSPDs), it can be important to be able to include this randomness for the sake of predicting unwanted effects and interactions within the circuit. We present a modification of the model described by Berggren et. al. which allows for the inclusion of this stochasticity into the nanowire device model. We then verify the model against experiment using a tungsten silicide SNSPD, and show that the modified model replicates the stochasticity of the physical device.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Volume

29

Issue

5

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2019.2892049

Keywords

snspd, superconductor, nanowire, ntron, ytron, sspd

Citation

McCaughan, A. , Nam, S. and Oh, D. (2019), A stochastic SPICE model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors and other nanowire devices, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2019.2892049 (Accessed October 6, 2025)