Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 30: Poster II
Q 30.43: Poster
Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 16:30–19:00, VMP 9 Poster
Photon counting with fiber-coupled superconducting single photon detectors — •Gesine Steudle1, Sander Dorenbos2, Ingmar Müller1, Valery Zwiller2, and Oliver Benson1 — 1Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, AG Nano-Optik, Germany — 2TU Delft, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Netherlands
One of the main challenges of fiber-based single photon devices is the efficient and feasible detection of single photons at telecommunication wavelengths. Especially for quantum communication and quantum cryptography this point is crucial. A promising approach is the use of superconducting single photon detectors. In our case these detectors consist of a small NbN wire which is arranged in a meander. Wires are 5 nm thick and 100 nm wide and the meander area covers 10µm · 10µm. To provide optimal coupling to the experimental setup a single mode optical fiber is glued directly on the detector chip. Presently, we archieve system efficiencies of 10% (in the visible). Single photon detection was shown measuring the intensity correlation function of a single photon source. The main advantages of this type of detectors are high count rates of the order of 1 GHz, a time resolution below 100 ps, a low dark cout rate, and reasonable quantum efficiencies in the IR. Furthermore, the fixed fiber coupling provides easy handling of the detector unit.