Counting photons using a nanonetwork of superconducting wires

Abstract

We show how the parallel connection of photo-sensitive superconducting nanowires can be used to count the number of photons in an optical pulse, down to the single-photon level. Using this principle we demonstrate photon-number resolving detectors with unprecedented sensitivity and speed at telecommunication wavelengths. © ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2009.