Phys.org June 2, 2021
An international team of researchers (USA – NIST, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MIT, UK) has developed superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors based on tungsten silicide. To compensate for the lower energy carried by IR light they reduced the density of electrons in the wires that are available to absorb the photons. With fewer electrons available, the fraction of the total photon energy absorbed by any one electron is likely to be higher, increasing the likelihood that the electron would have enough energy to cross the superconducting gap and generate a signal when IR photons strike the detector. They showed saturated internal detection efficiency up to a wavelength of 10 μm. The detectors are promising for applications in the mid-infrared requiring sub-nanosecond timing, ultra-high gain stability, low dark counts, and high efficiency, such as chemical sensing, LIDAR, the stealth navigation of vehicles in pitch darkness, and the search for dark matter…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Quantum cascade laser (QCL) setup inside the cryostat, flood illuminating the sample…Credit: APL Photonics 6, 056101 (2021)Â