2010 R&D 100 Winner
Requirements for efficient, high-speed, photon counting receivers have driven communication waveform and receiver design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, Mass., has introduced a new photodetector technology, the Sub-wavelength-Separated Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector Array that is able to substantially improve this ability.
The superconductor nanowire array performs like other arrays but takes the unusual step of utilizing multiple wires. When a single photon illuminates the array, a hot spot is created in just one of the nanowires, briefly destroying its superconductivity. The resulting large change in resistance produces a signal that dominates all noise sources. The remaining nanowires are available to detect the next photon, leaving the first wire to recover its superconductive properties. This spatially multiplexed approach allows detection of photons at a higher rate than a single, superconducting nanowire would support, and with an efficiency and detection rate much higher than avalanche photodetector solutions.
Technology
Nanowire single-photon detector array
Developer
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
Development Team
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(l-r): Andrew J. Kerman, Eric A. Dauler, Karl K. Berggren, and Vikas Anant
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The Sub-wavelength-Separated Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector Array Development Team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory: :
Vikas Anant
Karl K. Berggren
Eric A. Dauler
Andrew J. Kerman
Joel K.W. Yang
