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Main Authors: Basset, Julien, Stanisavljević, Ognjen, Gabelli, Julien, Aprili, Marco, Estève, Jérôme
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.17470
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author Basset, Julien
Stanisavljević, Ognjen
Gabelli, Julien
Aprili, Marco
Estève, Jérôme
author_facet Basset, Julien
Stanisavljević, Ognjen
Gabelli, Julien
Aprili, Marco
Estève, Jérôme
contents We demonstrate a single-photon detector operating in the microwave domain, based on photo-assisted quasiparticle tunneling events that poison a superconducting island. The detection relies on continuously monitoring the island's charge parity using microwave reflectometry. This scheme achieves 10% detection efficiency with sub 50 ns time resolution and short dead time 1 microsecond, for microwave photons at 10 GHz. The detector features three junctions connected to a superconducting island, which together carry out photoelectric conversion and charge readout. The enhanced light-matter coupling, crucial to photon to quasiparticle conversion, is provided by a granular aluminum-based high-impedance microwave resonator. The time resolved detection of itinerant microwave photon opens up new perspectives in quantum sensing, microwave quantum optics, readout of superconducting qubits and mesoscopic physics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_17470
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fast and Continuous Detection of Single Microwave Photons via Photo-assisted Quasiparticle Tunneling to a Superconducting Island
Basset, Julien
Stanisavljević, Ognjen
Gabelli, Julien
Aprili, Marco
Estève, Jérôme
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
We demonstrate a single-photon detector operating in the microwave domain, based on photo-assisted quasiparticle tunneling events that poison a superconducting island. The detection relies on continuously monitoring the island's charge parity using microwave reflectometry. This scheme achieves 10% detection efficiency with sub 50 ns time resolution and short dead time 1 microsecond, for microwave photons at 10 GHz. The detector features three junctions connected to a superconducting island, which together carry out photoelectric conversion and charge readout. The enhanced light-matter coupling, crucial to photon to quasiparticle conversion, is provided by a granular aluminum-based high-impedance microwave resonator. The time resolved detection of itinerant microwave photon opens up new perspectives in quantum sensing, microwave quantum optics, readout of superconducting qubits and mesoscopic physics.
title Fast and Continuous Detection of Single Microwave Photons via Photo-assisted Quasiparticle Tunneling to a Superconducting Island
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.17470