A 64-pixel mid-infrared single-photon imager based on superconducting nanowire detectors

TL;DR

This paper presents a scalable 64-pixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array for mid-infrared wavelengths, enabling advanced applications in astronomy and chemistry with simplified readout architecture.

Contribution

It introduces a novel thermally coupled multiplexing architecture for SNSPD arrays, reducing complexity and enabling large-scale mid-infrared single-photon detection.

Findings

Demonstrated a 64-pixel array with promising performance between 3.4 and 10 micrometers.

Achieved a design requiring only six cables, scalable to larger arrays.

Showed potential for broad applications in science and technology.

Abstract

A large-format mid-infrared single-photon imager with very low dark count rates would enable a broad range of applications in fields like astronomy and chemistry. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are a mature photon-counting technology as demonstrated by their figures of merit. However, scaling SNSPDs to large array sizes for mid-infrared applications requires sophisticated readout architectures in addition to superconducting materials development. In this work, an SNSPD array design that combines a thermally coupled row-column multiplexing architecture with a thermally coupled time-of-flight transmission line was developed for mid-infrared applications. The design requires only six cables and can be scaled to larger array sizes. The demonstration of a 64-pixel array shows promising results for wavelengths between $\mathrm{3.4\,\mu m}$ and $\mathrm{10\,\mu m}$, which will enable the use of this single-photon detector technology for a broad range of new applications.