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Register a new userIntrinsic detection efficiency of superconducting single photon detector in the modified hot spot model
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We theoretically study the dependence of the intrinsic detection efficiency (IDE) of superconducting single photon detector on the applied current $I$ and magnetic field $H$. We find that the current, at which the resistive state appears in the superconducting film, depends on the position of the hot spot (region with suppressed superconductivity around the place where the photon has been absorbed) with respect to the edges of the film. It provides inevitable smooth dependence IDE(I) when IDE $sim 0.05-1$ even for homogenous straight superconducting film and in the absence of fluctuations. When IDE $lesssim 0.05$ much sharper current dependence comes from the fluctuation assisted vortex entry to the hot spot located near the edge of the film. We find that weak magnetic field strongly affects IDE when the photon detection is connected with fluctuation assisted vortex entry (IDE$ll 1$) and it weakly affects IDE when the photon detection is connected with the current induced vortex entry to the hot spot or nucleation of the vortex-antivortex pair inside the hot spot (IDE$sim 0.05-1$).
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We find the relation between the energy of the absorbed photon and the threshold current at which the resistive state appears in the current-carrying superconducting film with the probability about unity. In our calculations we use the modified hot spot model, which assumes different strength of suppression of the superconducting order parameter in the finite area of the film around the place where the photon is absorbed. To find the threshold current we solve the Ginzburg-Landau equation for superconducting order parameter, which automatically includes the current continuity equation and it allows us to consider the back effect of current redistribution near the hot spot on the stability of the superconducting state. We find quantitative agreement with the recent experiments, where we use the single fitting parameter which describes what part of the energy of the photon goes for the local destruction of the superconductivity in the film.
We investigate the detection efficiency of a spiral layout of a Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector (SNSPD). The design is less susceptible to the critical current reduction in sharp turns of the nanowire than the conventional meander design. Detector samples with different nanowire width from 300 to 100 nm are patterned from a 4 nm thick NbN film deposited on sapphire substrates. The critical current IC at 4.2 K for spiral, meander, and simple bridge structures is measured and compared. On the 100 nm wide samples, the detection efficiency is measured in the wavelength range 400-1700 nm and the cut-off wavelength of the hot-spot plateau is determined. In the optical range, the spiral detector reaches a detection efficiency of 27.6%, which is ~1.5 times the value of the meander. In the infrared range the detection efficiency is more than doubled.
We probe the local detection efficiency in a nanowire superconducting single-photon detector along the cross-section of the wire with a spatial resolution of 10 nm. We experimentally find a strong variation in the local detection efficiency of the device. We demonstrate that this effect explains previously observed variations in NbN detector efficiency as function of device geometry.
We experimentally investigate the effect of a magnetic field on photon detection in superconducting single-photon detectors. At low fields, the effect of a magnetic field is through the direct modification of the quasiparticle density of states of the superconductor, and magnetic field and bias current are interchangable, as is expected for homogeneous dirty-limit superconductors. At the field where a first vortex enters the detector, the effect of the magnetic field is reduced, up until the point where the critical current of the detector starts to be determined by flux flow. From this field on, increasing the magnetic field does not alter the detection of photons anymore, whereas it does still change the rate of dark counts. This result points at an intrinsic difference in dark and light counts, and also shows that no enhancement of the intrinsic detection efficiency of a straight SSPD wire is achievable in a magnetic field.
Thorough spectral study of the intrinsic single-photon detection efficiency in superconducting TaN and NbN nanowires with different widths shows that the experimental cut-off in the efficiency at near-infrared wavelengths is most likely caused by the local deficiency of Cooper pairs available for current transport. For both materials the reciprocal cut-off wavelength scales with the wire width whereas the scaling factor quantitatively agrees with the hot-spot detection models. Comparison of the experimental data with vortex-assisted detection scenarios shows that these models predict a stronger dependence of the cut-off wavelength on the wire width.
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