Superconducting detectors have fundamental advantages over conventional optical sensors in terms of noise, sensitivity, energy and time resolution, and radiation tolerance. In this paper, we consider the three most relevant superconducting detector technologies towards the Habitable Worlds Observatory: transition edge sensors (TESs), microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs), and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs). We present a reference table providing a quantitative comparison of the three technologies, to help facilitate future trade studies. We also consider instrumental concerns such as low-vibration cryogenics and low-power readout electronics.
Multiple space missions currently under study require high-performing detectors at mid-infrared wavelengths from 2 to 20 µm. However, the future availability of the IBC detectors used for JWST is in doubt, and HgCdTe detectors have difficulties at longer wavelengths. Superconducting detectors are therefore being considered as a solution to fill this technology gap. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are particularly advantageous, because they are true photon-counting detectors with digital-like output signals and low dark count rates. These features make them very stable for applications like exoplanet transit spectroscopy and able to operate in photon-starved environments for applications like nulling interferometry. We have recently demonstrated SNSPDs with high internal detection efficiency at wavelengths as long as 29 µm. This talk will provide an overview of the current state of mid-IR SNSPDs and lay out the future steps needed to adapt them for exoplanet science missions.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have become the highest-performing type of single-photon detector, with demonstrations of near-unity detection efficiency, GHz count rate, and a broad wavelength range from UV to mid-IR. Scaling these detectors to large areas and pixel counts with minimal tradeoffs in their detection properties would expand the use case of SNSPDs to applications like astronomical spectroscopy, quantum imaging, or dark matter searches. In this talk, I will discuss a thermal coupling scheme enabling these large detector arrays and several array architectures to target the requirements of specific applications.
KEYWORDS: Detector arrays, Single photon detectors, Deep space optical communications, Superconductors, Receivers, Nanowires, Telecommunications, Design and modelling, Free space optics, Telescopes
With their high timing resolution, high detection efficiency, and large dynamic range, Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) are the ideal detectors for deep-space optical communication ground receivers. JPL has fabricated SNSPD detectors for four ground stations and fielded full detector systems at three of them as part of the upcoming Deep Space Optical Communication, RF/Optical Hybrid, and Optical to Orion projects. In this presentation, I will discuss the current status of these different detector systems and the technological advances that made them possible. I will also discuss the future improvements in SNSPD arrays necessary for next-generation optical communication ground stations.
KEYWORDS: Picosecond phenomena, Time correlated single photon counting, Imaging systems, Analog to digital converters, Superconductors, Single photon avalanche diodes, Nanowires, Quantum systems, Quantum imaging
The constant advancements in single-photon technologies have led to the development of detectors with amazingly low jitter, that can play an important role in quantum measurements. A major limitation to their full exploitation in practical applications is represented by the timing electronics that should possess both low jitter characteristics, as well as good speed, linearity, and full-scale range (FSR) performance. In this paper, we propose a new TACbased single-channel timing system that features a state-of-the-art timing jitter of 4.5 ps FWHM, along with a peak-to-peak DNL of 1.5% LSB and a speed of 12 Mcps, over a wide full-scale range of 12.5 ns. Thanks to the promising results achieved in experiments with SNSPDs, we are extending the system to eight channels, to leverage converter parallelization to further reduce timing jitter below 2 ps.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have become the gold standard for single photon detection at telecom wavelengths, and their high efficiency, high dynamic range, low timing jitter, and low dark count rates make them ideal for quantum applications. Many use cases benefit from arrays of SNSPDs, whether it’s to enable number resolution, to access higher maximum count rates, to cover larger active areas, or to provide imaging or spectroscopy capabilities. SNSPD array design typically involves a tradeoff between number of channels, active area, and timing properties. In this talk, I will discuss several applications of SNSPD arrays and describe how the applications’ different requirements affect the array and system-level design choices.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have long been the detector of choice for photon-counting applications in the near-infrared that demand high efficiency, high timing resolution and low dark counts. Extending the operation of these detectors to mid-infrared wavelengths above 2 µm would enable a host of applications in the fields of chemical and remote sensing, LIDAR and quantum optics. Pushing the range of these detectors deeper into the mid-infrared would also be of interest to the astronomical and dark matter communities. In this work we demonstrate long-wavelength sensitivity in SNSPDs by careful material and device optimization. We also show work towards efficient, low jitter devices in the mid-infrared.
Jason Allmaras, Boris Korzh, Andrew Beyer, Emma Wollman, Bruce Bumble, Ryan Rogalin, Erik Alerstam, Makan Mohageg, Meera Srinivasan, Daniel Hoppe, Matthew Shaw
In this work we describe the development, characterization, and integration of a 16-channel, 400-μm diameter active area, double-ended read-out NbTiN superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) array and the supporting electronics used in an RF/Optical hybrid telescope for deep-space laser communications. This is the first fielddemonstration of a multi-channel, co-wound, double-ended read-out SNSPD array. With the number and complexity of future space exploration missions expected to increase, NASA is investigating ways to augment the information capacity of the Deep Space Network (DSN) global array of RF receivers used to track and communicate with these spacecrafts. Optical communication offers a path toward increasing the overall bandwidth of the DSN while allowing for higher data throughput for the same size weight and power (SWAP) transmitter on the spacecraft. NASA’s RF/Optical Hybrid (RFO) program proposes using a segmented, 8-10-meter equivalent aperture primary mirror mounted on existing 34- meter diameter beam waveguide (BWG) RF antennas to couple light into photon counting detectors for pulse position modulation (PPM) and on-off keying (OOK) data formats. JPL has deployed a pathfinder hybrid telescope on a DSN BWG antenna in Goldstone, California. The pathfinder couples light from a 1.2-meter effective diameter, 7-hexagonalsegment mirror assembly to a 400-μm core graded-index multimode fiber. This fiber is then routed to a cryostat and coupled to an SNSPD array through free-space optics. Coupling from a large diameter fiber to an SNSPD array while maintaining a small number of readout channels from the cryostat presents some unique challenges for the SNSPD array and receiver design.
We will discuss recently-developed approaches to improve sensitivity of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors in the mid-infrared, showing saturated internal detection efficiency up to a wavelength of 10 microns. We will also show preliminary data from small 64-element SNSPD arrays with high internal detection efficiency in the midinfrared at 3.5 μm, and will discuss calibration techniques we are developing for measuring system detection efficiency in this region of the spectrum.
Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) excel at a wide variety of performance criteria for single photon counting. They combine unprecedented high detection efficiency, high timing resolution, high count rates, low intrinsic dark count rates, and are sensitive to ultraviolet through mid-infrared single-photons. At JPL, we are working on several projects to push the performance limits of SNSPDs to achieve higher maximum count rates, larger active areas, higher timing resolution, and a wider spectral range. Our recent advances enable new applications for dark matter detection, imaging, and space-to-ground communication and provide insight into the fundamental physics of single-photon detection in superconducting nanowires.
The Origins Space Telescope mission concept includes an exoplanet transit spectrometer that requires detector arrays with ultrahigh pixel-to-pixel stability. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, or SNSPDs, have the potential to meet these stringent stability requirements due to their digital-like output. Traditionally used for applications at near-IR telecom wavelengths, SNSPDs have demonstrated near-unity detection efficiencies, ultralow dark-count rates, and high dynamic ranges. Until recently, however, SNSPD operation at the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths of interest for Origins had not been demonstrated, and SNSPD formats were limited to small arrays and active areas. Recent advances in SNSPD fabrication techniques have pushed SNSPD sensitivity to wavelengths beyond 7 μm and have enabled millimeter-scale active areas and kilopixel arrays. We report here on this progress and the outlook toward developing arrays of ultrastable superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for mid-IR astronomy applications.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are excellent single-photon detectors from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. System detection efficiencies of ~ 90% are typical, with jitters on the order of 100 ps and maximum count rates of a few MHz. Recently we have begun exploring the use of SNSPDs for the detection of single mid-infrared photons in the 2 - 11 μm wavelength range for applications in astronomy and chemical sensing. In particular, we are developing arrays of SNSPDs which could potentially be used for exoplanet spectroscopy in order to identify elements in the atmospheres of exoplanets outside our solar system. Improved sensitivity for these low-energy photons has been made possible by the recent development of amorphous WSi which is now used in the fabrication of superconducting nanowire detectors. I will discuss the optimization of these detectors to enhance their detection efficiency in the midinfrared, with the ultimate goal of building a single-photon focal plane array of SNSPDs in the 2 - 11 μm band.
In recent years, many applications have been proposed that require detection of light signals in the near-infrared (NIR) range with single-photon sensitivity and time resolution below 100 ps; notably laser ranging, biomedical imaging, quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum information and communication experiments. The current state of the art in terms of timing resolution in the NIR range is a jitter below 20 ps achieved by superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD). A more practical and compact alternative that does not require cryogenic cooling is represented by InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). Indeed, gated-mode SPADs can achieve a timing resolution below 50 ps at relatively high excess biases (above 7 V). However, despite their good performance in terms of photon detection efficiency, dark count rate and timing resolution, standard InGaAs/InP SPADs are limited by their afterpulsing noise to gated-mode operation, thus precluding their use in many applications.
Negative-feedback avalanche diodes (NFADs) are a special structure of InGaAs/InP SPADs where a monolitically-integrated quenching resistor is used to reduce the afterpulsing noise contribution hence allowing free-running operation. Here, we present our recent results on the characterization of the timing response of different NFAD detectors for temperatures down to 143 K that demonstrate how NFADs can achieve timing jitter down to 50 ps in an extended range of operating conditions.
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPD) made from amorphous superconductors have showed great promise for achieving high fabrication yields, due to the highly uniform nature of the films. We present progress on the development of SNSPD based on amorphous MoSi with a critical temperature of around 5 K, which is ideal for detector operation at temperatures of 1 – 2.5 K, accessible with widely available cryogenic systems. First generation devices have achieved a saturated internal efficiency from visible to near-infrared wavelengths, which is the first requirement for high overall system efficiency. The broadband response has allowed us to make a robust study the energy-current relation in these devices, which defines the current required for a saturated internal detection efficiency for a given incident photon energy. Contrary to previous studies with other material systems, we find a nonlinear energy-current relation, which is an important insight into the detection mechanism in SNSPDs. The latest generation devices have been embedded into an micro-cavity structure in order to increase the system detection efficiency, which has increased to over 65% at 1550 nm. The efficiency is believed to be limited by fabrication imperfections and we present ongoing progress towards improving this characteristic as well as the yield of the devices. Efforts are also being made towards increasing the maximum operating temperature of the devices.
In recent years, many applications have been proposed that require detection of light signals in the near-infrared range with single-photon sensitivity and time resolution down to few hundreds of picoseconds. InGaAs/InP singlephoton avalanche diodes (SPADs) are a viable choice for these tasks thanks to their compactness and ease-of-use. Unfortunately, their performance is traditionally limited by high dark count rates (DCRs) and afterpulsing effects. However, a recent demonstration of negative feedback avalanche diodes (NFADs), operating in the free-running regime, achieved a DCR down to 1 cps at 10 % photon detection efficiency (PDE) at telecom wavelengths. Here we present our recent results on the characterization of NFAD detectors for temperatures down to approximately 150 K. A FPGA controlled test-bench facilitates the acquisition of all the parameters of interest like PDE, DCR, afterpulsing probability etc. We also demonstrate the performance of the detector in different applications: In particular, with low-temperature NFADs, we achieved high secret key rates with quantum key distribution over fiber links between 100-300 km. But low noise InGaAs/InP SPADs will certainly find applications in yet unexplored fields like photodynamic therapy, near infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy and many more. For example with a large area detector, we made time-resolved measurements of singlet-oxygen luminescence from a standard Rose Bengal dye in aqueous solution.
Single-photon detectors are the best option for applications where low noise measurements and/or high timing
resolution are required. At wavelengths between 900 nm and 1700 nm, however, low noise detectors have typically
been based on cryogenic superconducting technology, precluding their extended use in industrial or clinical
applications. Here we present a practical (i.e. compact, reliable and affordable) detector, based on a negative
feedback InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode and exhibiting dark counts < 1 count-per-second at 10% efficiency, and
with efficiencies of up to 27%. We show how this detector enables novel applications such as singlet-oxygen
luminescence detection for Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT) but can be an enabling technology also for a diverse set
of applications in both quantum communication (e.g. long-distance quantum key distribution) and biomedical
imaging.
Free-running single photon detectors at telecom wavelengths are attractive for many tasks in quantum optics. However, until recently, the convenient and compact InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes did not operate with satisfactory performance in this regime due to high dark count rates and afterpulsing effects. Recent development of negative feedback avalanche diodes (NFADs) enabled very fast passive quenching of the avalanche current, effectively reducing the afterpulse probability and subsequently allowing free-running operation. Here, we present analysis of NFAD operation at low temperatures, down to 163 K, which reveals a significant reduction of the dark count rate. We succeeded in developing a compact single photon detection system with a dark count rate of ~1 cps at 10% detection efficiency. To ensure that the NFAD is in a well-defined initial condition during the characterization of the detection efficiency and afterpulsing, we use a recently developed FPGA based test procedure suitable for free-running detectors. To demonstrate the performance of the detector in a real-world application we integrate it into a 1.25 GHz clocked quantum key distribution system. An optimization of the detector temperature allowed secret key distribution in the presence of more than 30 dB of loss in the quantum channel.
Hugo Zbinden, Nino Walenta, Olivier Guinnard, Raphael Houlmann, Charles Lim Ci Wen, Boris Korzh, Tommaso Lunghi, Nicolas Gisin, Andreas Burg, Jeremy Constantin, Matthieu Legré, Patrick Trinkler, Dario Caselunghe, Natalia Kulesza, Gregory Trolliet, Fabien Vannel, Pascal Junod, Olivier Auberson, Yoan Graf, Gilles Curchod, Gilles Habegger, Etienne Messerli, Christopher Portmann, Luca Henzen, Christoph Keller, Christian Pendl, Michael Mühlberghuber, Christoph Roth, Norbert Felber, Frank Gürkaynak, Daniel Schöni, Beat Muheim
We present the results of a Swiss project dedicated to the development of high speed quantum key distribution and data encryption. The QKD engine features fully automated key exchange, hardware key distillation based on finite key security analysis, efficient authentication and wavelength division multiplexing of the quantum and the classical channel and one-time pas encryption. The encryption device allows authenticated symmetric key encryption (e.g AES) at rates of up to 100 Gb/s. A new quantum key can uploaded up to 1000 times second from the QKD engine.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.