arXiv subjects

Hirotaka Terai

Publications and source records attributed to Hirotaka Terai.

82 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

64-pixel NbTiN superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array for spatially resolved photon detection

We present the characterization of two-dimensionally arranged 64-pixel NbTiN superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array for spatially resolved photon detection. NbTiN films deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates enabled the high-yield production of high-quality SSPD pixels, and all 64 SSPD pixels showed uniform superconducting characteristics. Furthermore, all of the pixels showed single-photon sensitivity, and 60 of the 64 pixels showed a pulse generation probability higher than 90% after photon absorption. As a result of light irradiation from the single-mode optical fiber at different distances between the fiber tip and the active area, the variations of system detection efficiency in each pixel showed reasonable Gaussian distribution to represent the spatial distributions of photon flux intensity.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Low-Filling-Factor Superconducting Single Photon Detector with High System Detection Efficiency

We designed, fabricated, and measured superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SSPDs) with low filling factor which achieve high system detection efficiency (SDE) and counting rate simultaneously. Numerical simulation reveals that high optical absorptance is possible in SSPDs even for low filing factor by tuning the device design. The SDEs of fabricated 18-50% filling factor SSPDs were measured systematically, and all SSPDs showed high SDEs of 61-80% and the lowest 18% filling factor SSPD achieved a high SDE of 69%.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Observation of two output light pulses from a partial wavelength converter preserving phase of an input light at a single-photon level

We experimentally demonstrate that both a converted and an unconverted light pulses after wavelength conversion with various conversion efficiencies preserve phase information of an input light at a single-photon level. In our experiment, we converted temporally-separated two coherent light pulses with average photon numbers of $\sim$ 0.1 at 780 nm to light pulses at 1522 nm by using difference-frequency generation in a periodically-poled lithium niobate waveguide. We observed a single-photon interference between temporally-separated two modes for both the converted and the unconverted light pulses at various values of the conversion efficiency. We observed interference visibilities greater than 0.88 without suppressing the background noises for any value of the conversion efficiency the wavelength converter achieves. At a conversion efficiency of $\sim$ 0.5, the observed visibilities are 0.98 for the unconverted light and 0.99 for the converted light.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Countermeasure against tailored bright illumination attack for DPS-QKD

We propose a countermeasure against the so-call tailored bright illumination attacl dor Differential-Phase-Shift QKD (DPS-QKD). By Monitoring a rate of coincidence detection at a pair of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SSPDs) which is connected at each of the output ports of Bob's Mach-Zehnder interferometer, Alice and Bob can detect and defeat this kind of attack.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Nonclasscial interference between independent intrinsically pure single photons at telecom wavelength

We demonstrate a Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between two independent, intrinsically pure, heralded single photons from spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) at telecom wavelength. A visibility of $85.5\pm8.3%$ was achieved without using any bandpass filter. Thanks to the group-velocity-matched SPDC and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs), the 4-fold coincidence counts are one order higher than that in the previous experiments. The combination of bright single photon sources and SNSPDs is a crucial step for future practical quantum info-communication systems at telecom wavelength.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Higgs Amplitude Mode in BCS Superconductors Nb$_{1-x}$Ti$_{x}$N induced by Terahertz Pulse Excitation

Ultrafast responses of BCS superconductor Nb1-xTixN films in a nonadiabatic excitation regime were investigated by using terahertz (THz) pump-THz probe spectroscopy. After an instantaneous excitation with the monocycle THz pump pulse, a transient oscillation emerges in the electromagnetic response in the BCS gap energy region. The oscillation frequency coincides with the asymptotic value of the BCS gap energy, indicating the appearance of the theoretically-anticipated collective amplitude mode of the order parameter, namely the Higgs amplitude mode. Our result opens a new pathway to the ultrafast manipulation of the superconducting order parameter by optical means.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

High performance fiber-coupled NbTiN superconducting nanowire single photon detectors with Gifford-McMahon cryocooler

We present high performance fiber-coupled niobium titanium nitride superconducting nanowire single photon detectors fabricated on thermally oxidized silicon substrates. The best device showed a system detection efficiency (DE) of 74%, dark count rate of 100 c/s, and full width at half maximum timing jitter of 68 ps under a bias current of 18.0 uA with a practical Gifford-McMahon cryocooler system. We also introduced six detectors into the cryocooler and confirmed that the system DE of all detectors was higher than 67% at the dark count rate of 100 c/s.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2013

Non-classical two-photon interference between independent telecom light pulses converted by difference-frequency generation

We experimentally demonstrated the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between two photons after visible-to-telecommunication wavelength conversion. In the experiment, we prepared a heralded single photon by using spontaneous parametric down-conversion and the other photon from a weak laser source at 780 nm. We converted the wavelength of both photons to the telecommunication wavelength of 1522 nm by using difference-frequency generation in a periodically-poled lithium niobate, and then observed the HOM interference between the photons. The observed visibility is $0.76\pm 0.12$ which clearly shows the non-classical interference of the two photons. The high-visibility interference is an important step for fiber-based quantum communications of photons generated from visible photon emitters.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Crosstalk-free operation of multi-element SSPD array integrated with SFQ circuit in a 0.1 Watt GM cryocooler

We demonstrate the successful operation of a multi-element superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SSPD) array integrated with a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) readout circuit in a compact 0.1 W Gifford-McMahon cryocooler. A time-resolved readout technique, where output signals from each element enter the SFQ readout circuit with finite time intervals, revealed crosstalk-free operation of the four-element SSPD array connected with the SFQ readout circuit. The timing jitter and the system detection efficiency were measured to be 50 ps and 11.4%, respectively, which were comparable to the performance of practical single-pixel SSPD systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

High-fidelity conversion of photonic quantum information to telecommunication wavelength with superconducting single-photon detectors

We experimentally demonstrate a high-fidelity visible-to-telecommunication wavelength conversion of a photon by using a solid-state-based difference frequency generation. In the experiment, one half of a pico-second visible entangled photon pair at 780 nm is converted to a 1522-nm photon, resulting in the entangled photon pair between 780 nm and 1522 nm. Using superconducting single-photon detectors with low dark count rates and small timing jitters, we selectively observed well-defined temporal modes containing the two photons. We achieved a fidelity of $0.93 \pm 0.04$ after the wavelength conversion, indicating that our solid-state-based scheme can be used for faithful frequency down-conversion of visible photons emitted from quantum memories composed of various media.

quant-ph↗