FIBER OPTICAL SUPERCONDUCTING NANOWIRE SINGLE PHOTON DETECTOR

摘要

A fiber optical superconducting nanowire detector with increased detector efficiency, fabricated directly on the tip of the input optical fiber. The fabrication on the tip of the fiber allows precise alignment of the detector to the fiber core, where the field mode is maximal. This construction maximizes the coupling efficiency to close to unity, without the need for complex alignment procedures, such as the need to align the input fiber with a previously fabricated device. The device includes a high-Q optical cavity, such that any photon entering the device will be reflected to and fro within the cavity numerous times, thereby increasing its chances of absorption by the nanowire structure. This is achieved by using dedicated cavity mirrors with very high reflectivity, with the meander nanowire structure contained within the cavity between the end mirrors, such that photons impinge on the nanowire structure with every traverse of the cavity.

主权项

1. A superconducting nanowire detector device, comprising:
a section of input optical fiber for inputting an optical signal to be detected; and an optical cavity associated with the end of said optical fiber, said cavity comprising serially:
a first reflective element;a superconductive nanowire meander structure, which, when cooled to its operating temperature, is adapted to provide a detector output signal responsive to the incidence of photons; anda high reflectivity mirror disposed at the end of said cavity remote from said optical fiber,wherein said optical cavity is constructed such that it provides coupling close to critical for light incident thereon from said input fiber.