Resolving Photon Numbers Using Ultra-High-Resolution Timing of a Single Low-Jitter Superconducting Nanowire Detector

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a photon-number-resolving detector using ultra-high-resolution timing of a superconducting nanowire, enabling high-efficiency, high-rate photon detection suitable for quantum information applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for photon-number resolution using timing of superconducting nanowire detectors, achieving high efficiency and rate in the telecom C-band.

Findings

Successful implementation of PNR in telecom C-band

Accurate measurement of photon-number statistics of coherent light

Detection of photon-number correlations in non-classical states

Abstract

Photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors are a key enabling technology in photonic quantum information processing. Here, we demonstrate the PNR capacity of conventional superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors by performing ultra-high-resolution time-tagging of the detector-generated electrical pulses. This method provides a viable approach for PNR with high detection efficiency and a high operational repetition rate. We present the implementation of such a PNR detector in the telecom C-band and its characterization by measuring the photon-number statistics of coherent light with tunable intensity. Additionally, we demonstrate the capabilities of the detection method by measuring photon-number correlations of non-classical states.