Superconducting microwire detectors with single-photon sensitivity in the near-infrared

Published

June 16, 2020

Author(s)

Jeffrey T. Chiles, Sonia M. Buckley, Adriana E. Lita, Varun B. Verma, Jeffrey M. Shainline, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam, Jason Allmaras, Boris Korzh, Emma Wollman, Matthew Shaw

Abstract

We report on the fabrication and characterization of single-photon-sensitive WSi superconducting detectors with wire widths from 1 υm to 3 υm. The devices achieve saturated internal detection efficiency at 1.55 υm wavelength and exhibit maximum count rates in excess of 10⁵ s^-1. We also investigate the material properties of the silicon-rich WSi films used for these devices. We find that many devices with active lengths of several hundred microns exhibit critical currents in excess of 50% of the depairing current. A meandered detector with 2.0 υm wire width is demonstrated over a surface area of 360×360 υm², showcasing the material and device quality achieved.

Citation

Applied Physics Letters

Volume

242602

Issue

116

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0006221

Local Download

Keywords

snsp, wsi, superconductors

Citation

Chiles, J. , Buckley, S. , Lita, A. , Verma, V. , Shainline, J. , Mirin, R. , Nam, S. , Allmaras, J. , Korzh, B. , Wollman, E. and Shaw, M. (2020), Superconducting microwire detectors with single-photon sensitivity in the near-infrared, Applied Physics Letters, [online], https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0006221 (Accessed October 10, 2025)