{"id":5261,"date":"2012-07-18T22:29:05","date_gmt":"2012-07-18T22:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/?p=5261"},"modified":"2012-07-18T22:29:05","modified_gmt":"2012-07-18T22:29:05","slug":"cavity-integrated-ultra-narrow-superconducting-nanowire-single-photon-detector-based-on-a-thick-niobium-nitride-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/cavity-integrated-ultra-narrow-superconducting-nanowire-single-photon-detector-based-on-a-thick-niobium-nitride-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavity-integrated Ultra-narrow Superconducting Nanowire Single-photon Detector Based on a Thick Niobium Nitride Film"},"content":{"rendered":"
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) [1<\/a>] <\/sup>, based on 100-nm-wide, ~\u00a04-nm\u2011thick niobium nitride (NbN) nanowires, are unmatched in sensitivity [2<\/a>] <\/sup> and timing accuracy [3<\/a>] <\/sup> by other detector technologies at standard optical telecommunication wavelengths. The detection efficiency (\u03b7<\/em>) of SNSPDs is the product of the optical absorption of the nanowire meander (A<\/em>, which increases with the thickness of the nanowires) and the probability of photon induced resistive state formation in the nanowire (P<\/em>r<\/sub>, which increases with decreasing cross-sectional area of the nanowires [4<\/a>] <\/sup> ).<\/p>\n