Waveguide Integrated Superconducting Single-Photon Detectors

Near-field coupling to nanophotonic waveguides enables absorption engineering of superconducting nanowires for efficient single photon detection on chip. The direct compatibility with photonic circuitry allows for using such devices in the framework of integrated optics and thus for exploiting the rich toolbox of nanophotonics for device characterization and optimization. We integrate superconducting single photon detectors with photonic circuitry made from different transparent materials. Both single and multi-photon capability can be achieved through variation of the nanowire width, as well as ultra-fast single photon counting with high detection rates by reducing the nanowire length.