skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Inhomogeneous critical current in nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4903071· OSTI ID:22402416
; ;  [1]
  1. COBRA Research Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, NL-5600MB Eindhoven (Netherlands)

A superconducting thin film with uniform properties is the key to realize nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) with high performance and high yield. To investigate the uniformity of NbN films, we introduce and characterize simple detectors consisting of short nanowires with length ranging from 100 nm to 15 μm. Our nanowires, contrary to meander SSPDs, allow probing the homogeneity of NbN at the nanoscale. Experimental results, endorsed by a microscopic model, show the strongly inhomogeneous nature of NbN films on the sub-100 nm scale.

OSTI ID:
22402416
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 22; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English