Thermoelectric Nanowire Single-Photon Detector

We have collected and analyzed the values of thermoelectric parameters of thermoelectric materials and on this basis calculated the energy resolution and photon count rate of the Thermoelectric Nanowire Single-Photon Detector (TNSPD). It is concluded that the TNSPD can achieve higher specifications as compared with the best single-photon detectors. The lanthanum-cerium hexaboride sensors of TNSPD are expected to reach more than gigahertz count rates and will have a sensitivity of 0.1 eV. It means that the device is sensitive enough to register and spectrally characterize not only X-ray and UV, but also optical and infrared photons, as its major competitors, the superconducting and semiconducting single-photon detectors.