# Superconducting nanowires as high-rate photon detectors in strong magnetic fields

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that superconducting Niobium Nitride nanowire photon detectors maintain high efficiency and low dark counts in strong magnetic fields up to 5 Tesla, enabling their use in nuclear physics experiments.

## Contribution

It introduces fabrication and testing of Niobium Nitride nanowire detectors capable of high-rate photon detection in strong magnetic fields, expanding their application scope.

## Key findings

- Detect 400 nm photons with saturated efficiency at 3 K
- Operate effectively in magnetic fields up to 5 T
- Maintain nearly zero dark counts at high rates

## Abstract

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors are capable of single-photon detection across a large spectral range, with near unity detection efficiency, picosecond timing jitter, and sub-10 $\mu$m position resolution at rates as high as 10$^{9}$ counts/s. In an effort to bring this technology into nuclear physics experiments, we fabricate Niobium Nitride nanowire detectors using ion beam assisted sputtering and test their performance in strong magnetic fields. We demonstrate that these devices are capable of detection of 400 nm wavelength photons with saturated internal quantum efficiency at temperatures of 3 K and in magnetic fields potentially up to 5 T at high rates and with nearly zero dark counts.