A liquid nitrogen cooled superconducting transition edge sensor with ultra-high responsivity and GHz operation speeds

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nitrogen-cooled superconducting transition edge sensor with ultra-high responsivity and GHz operation speeds, made from van der Waals heterostructures, enabling practical quantum photonics applications at higher temperatures.

Contribution

The development of a nitrogen-cooled superconducting detector with unprecedented performance metrics using high-temperature superconductor heterostructures.

Findings

Achieved responsivity of 9.61x10^4 V/W

Noise equivalent power of 15.9 fW/Hz-1/2

Operation speeds up to GHz frequencies

Abstract

Photodetectors based on nano-structured superconducting thin films are currently some of the most sensitive quantum sensors and are key enabling technologies in such broad areas as quantum information, quantum computation and radio-astronomy. However, their broader use is held back by the low operation temperatures which require expensive cryostats. Here, we demonstrate a nitrogen cooled superconducting transition edge sensor, which shows orders of magnitude improved performance characteristics of any superconducting detector operated above 77K, with a responsivity of 9.61x10^4 V/W, noise equivalent power of 15.9 fW/Hz-1/2 and operation speeds up to GHz frequencies. It is based on van der Waals heterostructures of the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, which are shaped into nano-wires with ultra-small form factor. To highlight the versatility of the detector we demonstrate its fabrication and operation on a telecom grade SiN waveguide chip. Our detector significantly relaxes the demands of practical applications of superconducting detectors and displays its huge potential for photonics based quantum applications.