A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors
© 2018 Author(s). To analyze the switching dynamics and output performance of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD), the nanowire is usually modelled as an inductor in series with a time-varying resistor induced by the absorption of a photon. Our recent experimental results show...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIP Publishing
2021
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134735 |
| _version_ | 1811076003610492928 |
|---|---|
| author | Zhao, Qing-Yuan Santavicca, Daniel F Zhu, Di Noble, Brian Berggren, Karl K |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Zhao, Qing-Yuan Santavicca, Daniel F Zhu, Di Noble, Brian Berggren, Karl K |
| author_sort | Zhao, Qing-Yuan |
| collection | MIT |
| description | © 2018 Author(s). To analyze the switching dynamics and output performance of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD), the nanowire is usually modelled as an inductor in series with a time-varying resistor induced by the absorption of a photon. Our recent experimental results show that, due to the effect of kinetic inductance, for a SNSPD made of a nanowire of sufficient length, its geometrical length can be comparable to or even longer than the effective wavelength of frequencies contained in the output pulse. In other words, a superconducting nanowire can behave as a distributed transmission line so that the readout pulse depends on the photon detection location and the transmission line properties of the nanowire. Here, we develop a distributed model for a superconducting nanowire and apply it to simulate the output performance of a long nanowire designed into a coplanar waveguide. We compare this coplanar waveguide geometry to a conventional meander nanowire geometry. The simulation results agree well with our experimental observations. With this distributed model, we discuss the importance of microwave design of a nanowire and how impedance matching can affect the output pulse shape. We also discuss how the distributed model affects the growth and decay of the photon-triggered resistive hotspot. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:14:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/134735 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:14:37Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | AIP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1347352023-02-17T17:48:40Z A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors Zhao, Qing-Yuan Santavicca, Daniel F Zhu, Di Noble, Brian Berggren, Karl K Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science © 2018 Author(s). To analyze the switching dynamics and output performance of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD), the nanowire is usually modelled as an inductor in series with a time-varying resistor induced by the absorption of a photon. Our recent experimental results show that, due to the effect of kinetic inductance, for a SNSPD made of a nanowire of sufficient length, its geometrical length can be comparable to or even longer than the effective wavelength of frequencies contained in the output pulse. In other words, a superconducting nanowire can behave as a distributed transmission line so that the readout pulse depends on the photon detection location and the transmission line properties of the nanowire. Here, we develop a distributed model for a superconducting nanowire and apply it to simulate the output performance of a long nanowire designed into a coplanar waveguide. We compare this coplanar waveguide geometry to a conventional meander nanowire geometry. The simulation results agree well with our experimental observations. With this distributed model, we discuss the importance of microwave design of a nanowire and how impedance matching can affect the output pulse shape. We also discuss how the distributed model affects the growth and decay of the photon-triggered resistive hotspot. 2021-10-27T20:08:54Z 2021-10-27T20:08:54Z 2018 2019-05-08T17:08:58Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134735 en 10.1063/1.5040150 Applied Physics Letters Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf AIP Publishing arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Zhao, Qing-Yuan Santavicca, Daniel F Zhu, Di Noble, Brian Berggren, Karl K A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title | A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title_full | A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title_fullStr | A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title_full_unstemmed | A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title_short | A distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| title_sort | distributed electrical model for superconducting nanowire single photon detectors |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/134735 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhaoqingyuan adistributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT santaviccadanielf adistributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT zhudi adistributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT noblebrian adistributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT berggrenkarlk adistributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT zhaoqingyuan distributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT santaviccadanielf distributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT zhudi distributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT noblebrian distributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors AT berggrenkarlk distributedelectricalmodelforsuperconductingnanowiresinglephotondetectors |