Controlling the recovery time of the superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with a voltage-controlled cryogenic tunable resistor

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Hauptverfasser: Wang, Hui, Orlov, Nikita Dmitrievic, Noordzij, Niels, Descamps, Thomas, Los, J. W. Niels, Zwiller, Val, Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Wang, Hui
Orlov, Nikita Dmitrievic
Noordzij, Niels
Descamps, Thomas
Los, J. W. Niels
Zwiller, Val
Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil
author_facet Wang, Hui
Orlov, Nikita Dmitrievic
Noordzij, Niels
Descamps, Thomas
Los, J. W. Niels
Zwiller, Val
Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil
contents Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPD), owing to their unique performance, are currently the standard detector in most demanding single-photon experiments. One important metric for any single-photon detector is the deadtime (or recovery time), defined as the minimum temporal separation between consecutive detection events. In SNSPDs, the recovery time is more subtle, as the detection efficiency does not abruptly drop to zero when the temporal separation between detection events gets smaller, instead, it increases gradually as the SNSPD current recovers. SNSPD's recovery time is dominated by its kinetic inductance, the readout impedance, and the degree of saturation of internal efficiency. Decreasing the kinetic inductance or increasing the readout impedance can accelerate the recovery process. Significant reduction of the SNSPD recovery time, by, for example, adding a series resistor in the readout circuitry, is possible but can lead to detector latching which hinders further detector operation or enforces underbiasing and hence a reduction in detection efficiency. Previous research has demonstrated passive resistive networks for the reduction of recovery time that rely on trial and error to find the appropriate resistance values. Here we show, using a novel, cryogenically compatible, and tunable resistor technology, one can find the optimized impedance values, delivering fast SNSPD recovery time, while maintaining maximum internal detection efficiency. Here we show an increase of more than 2 folds in both maximum achievable detection rates and the achievable detection efficiency at high photon fluxes, demonstrating detection rates as high as 120 Mcps with no loss of internal detection efficiency.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_11832
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Controlling the recovery time of the superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with a voltage-controlled cryogenic tunable resistor
Wang, Hui
Orlov, Nikita Dmitrievic
Noordzij, Niels
Descamps, Thomas
Los, J. W. Niels
Zwiller, Val
Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil
Instrumentation and Detectors
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPD), owing to their unique performance, are currently the standard detector in most demanding single-photon experiments. One important metric for any single-photon detector is the deadtime (or recovery time), defined as the minimum temporal separation between consecutive detection events. In SNSPDs, the recovery time is more subtle, as the detection efficiency does not abruptly drop to zero when the temporal separation between detection events gets smaller, instead, it increases gradually as the SNSPD current recovers. SNSPD's recovery time is dominated by its kinetic inductance, the readout impedance, and the degree of saturation of internal efficiency. Decreasing the kinetic inductance or increasing the readout impedance can accelerate the recovery process. Significant reduction of the SNSPD recovery time, by, for example, adding a series resistor in the readout circuitry, is possible but can lead to detector latching which hinders further detector operation or enforces underbiasing and hence a reduction in detection efficiency. Previous research has demonstrated passive resistive networks for the reduction of recovery time that rely on trial and error to find the appropriate resistance values. Here we show, using a novel, cryogenically compatible, and tunable resistor technology, one can find the optimized impedance values, delivering fast SNSPD recovery time, while maintaining maximum internal detection efficiency. Here we show an increase of more than 2 folds in both maximum achievable detection rates and the achievable detection efficiency at high photon fluxes, demonstrating detection rates as high as 120 Mcps with no loss of internal detection efficiency.
title Controlling the recovery time of the superconducting nanowire single-photon detector with a voltage-controlled cryogenic tunable resistor
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.11832