Simultaneous resolution of photon numbers and positions with series-connected superconducting nanowires

Abstract

In this Letter, we report on a device with which to resolve photon numbers and positions simultaneously, using single-channel readout from superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). The nanowires in the SNSPDs are connected in series with parallel resistors for producing response pulses with different amplitudes, whose values obey a distribution of 1:2:4:,.,2n-1. In single-photon detection, a saturated counting rate is obtained at a low dark count rate (<10 cps). Furthermore, we observed 16 output modes corresponding one-to-one with 16 states (15 photon responses + 1 state without photons) in multiphoton mode. This structure not only inherits the advantages of high quantum efficiency and low dark count rate of traditional SNSPD, but also realizes the resolution of photon position and number simultaneously without complicated optical system. Thus, this proposal offers a promising platform for realizing scalable and practical quantum information chips.