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A concept for a submillimeter-wave single-photon counter
- Source :
- IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity. 9:2935-2939
- Publication Year :
- 1999
- Publisher :
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 1999.
-
Abstract
- We discuss the design for a submillimeter-wave photometer, using a combination of superconducting and single-electron devices, which would have high quantum efficiency, very low noise-equivalent powers, and eventually even submicrosecond timing resolution. The absorption of above-gap photons occurs in a small strip of superconducting Al, whose normal-state resistance can be matched efficiently to an antenna of a higher gap (Nb) superconductor. The quasiparticles produced by photon absorption are then confined via Andreev reflection, and forced to tunnel through a small SIS tunnel junction. The tunneling time is much shorter than the known (>10 /spl mu/s) quasiparticle recombination time, so collection efficiency will be high. The device sensitivity would be limited by the small subgap current in the high-quality Al/AlO/sub x//Al tunnel junction at temperatures (100 mK) well below T/sub c/. Scaling based on the larger junctions used in X-ray detector applications suggests that the total dark current can be
- Subjects :
- Physics
business.industry
Coulomb blockade
Photodetector
Condensed Matter::Mesoscopic Systems and Quantum Hall Effect
Condensed Matter Physics
Photon counting
Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Andreev reflection
High impedance
Tunnel junction
Condensed Matter::Superconductivity
Optoelectronics
Quantum efficiency
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
business
Dark current
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10518223
- Volume :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- IEEE Transactions on Appiled Superconductivity
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........078299a06cbff758f2a084b4d28db2dd