Thermoelectric Single-photon Detector Research Articles

A highly sensitive broadband superconducting thermoelectric single-photon detector

We propose a passive single-photon detector based on the bipolar thermoelectric effect occurring in tunnel junctions between two different superconductors thanks to spontaneous electron–hole symmetry breaking. Our superconducting thermoelectric detector (STED) converts a finite temperature difference caused by the absorption of a single photon into an open circuit thermovoltage. Designed with feasible parameters, our STED is able to reveal single photons of frequency ranging from ∼15 GHz to ∼150 PHz depending on the chosen design and materials. In particular, this detector is expected to show values of the signal-to-noise ratio SNR ∼ 15 at ν = 50 GHz when operated at a temperature of 10 mK. Interestingly, this device can be viewed as a digital single-photon detector, since it generates an almost constant voltage VS for the full operation energies. Our STED can reveal single photons in a frequency range wider than four decades with the possibility to discern the energy of the incident photon by measuring the time persistence of the generated thermovoltage. Its broadband operation suggests that our STED could find practical applications in several fields of quantum science and technology, such as quantum computing, telecommunications, optoelectronics, THz spectroscopy, and astro-particle physics.

Modeling of Heat Propagation Processes in Detection Pixel of Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector with High-Temperature Superconducting Absorber

Modeling of Heat Propagation Processes in Detection Pixel of Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector with High-Temperature Superconducting Absorber

Semiconductor Sensor of the Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector for Recording Near-Infrared Radiation

Semiconductor Sensor of the Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector for Recording Near-Infrared Radiation

Simulation of Heat Propagation Processes Taking Place in the Detection Pixel of Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector

We present the results of modeling and simulation of heat propagation processes taking place in SiO2/W/CeB6/W four-layer detection pixel of a thermoelectric single-photon detector after simultaneous absorption of two, three, and four photons with energy 0.8 eV at different distances from each other as well as many photons absorption at different optical delay. Calculations were carried out based on the equation of heat propagation from a limited volume using the three-dimensional matrix method for differential equations. We have shown that a thermoelectric detector is able to count the number of absorbed photons. Detection pixels of usable size and high detection efficiency are found to have a count rate up to 1014 cps.

The Use of Silicon Dioxide Films as Anti-Reflective Coating of Thermoelectric Single-Photon Detector

Antireflection layers are an important part of the sensitive elements of high performance single photon detectors. We have obtained amorphous silicon dioxide films by electron-beam sputtering on Al2O3, AlN, Si substrates as well as CeB6, LaB6, and W coatings. The elemental composition, microstructure and surface roughness, as well as optical characteristics of the samples obtained under various conditions of spraying are investigated. It is shown that SiO2/Al2O3 and SiO2/AlN two-layer coatings can provide high detection efficiency under registration of the radiation in the near IR region, which is used in telecommunication systems and devices for quantum information processing.

Modeling and Simulation of Ultrafast and Highly Efficient Single Photon Detection From Infrared to Ultraviolet

In this paper we have proposed the design of a single-photon thermoelectric detector’s detection pixel consisting of heat sink (W), thermoelectric sensor (CeB6), absorber (W), and antireflection layer (SiO2). It is justified that the detector with such a detection pixel can provide for the system efficiency above 90% for photons with energy 0.8–4 eV. Modeling and simulation are used to study the processes of heat propagation in four-layer detection pixel of a thermoelectric single-photon detector after photon absorption. Calculations were carried out on the basis of the equation of heat distribution from a limited volume using the three-dimensional matrix method for differential equations. The temporal dependence of the amplitude of the signal appearing on the detection pixel was calculated for different thicknesses of detection pixel layers. The signal time delay, the maximum signal value, the maximum signal reaching time, the signal decay time to the background, and the detector’s count rate were determined. It is shown that the maximum of the signal is many times higher than the background level, does not depend on the area of photon thermalization in the absorber and has a linear dependence on the photon energy. The construction of the detection pixel also provides for terahertz count rates. The signal time delay is less than a femtosecond. Detectors with such characteristics are in demand in various fields of science and may have a wide range of practical applications in future technologies.

Four-Layer Detection Pixel of Single-Photon Thermoelectric Detector

The processes of heat propagation in a four-layer detection pixel of thermoelectric single-photon detector after the absorption of photon of the 0.8 eV energy are investigated by the computer simulation method. The design of the detection pixel consisting of successive layers on a sapphire substrate of heat sink (W), thermoelectric sensor (CeB6), absorber (W) and the antireflection layer (LaB6) is proposed. The temporal dependences of an intensity of the signal arising on the detection pixel, the values and the time to reach the maximum signal, the time of signal decreasing to the background value and the count rate of the detector for different thicknesses of the layers of the sensing element are determined. The computer modelling is carried out based on the equation of heat propagation from the limited volume by the use of three-dimensional matrix method for differential equations. It is shown that the thermoelectric detector with the four-layer detection pixel has a system detection efficiency on the level of 95%. It also provides a gigahertz count rate. A detector with such characteristics can be applied in various fields of science and modern technologies.

Prospects of using rare-earth hexaborides in thermoelectric single-photon detectors

The results of the numerical simulation of heat propagation processes occurring after the absorption of single photons with energies of 1 eV–1 keV in a three-layer sensor of a thermoelectric detector are analyzed. Different configurations of the sensor with a tungsten absorber, a thermoelectric layer of cerium hexaboride, and a tungsten heat sink are considered. It is shown that sensors for detecting photons of a specific spectral range with the required energy resolution and counting rate can be developed by varying the geometric sizes of the sensor layers. It is concluded that a three-layer sensor has a number of advantages in comparison with a single-layer sensor and has characteristics allowing consideration of the thermoelectric detector as a realistic alternative to superconducting single-photon detectors.

Investigation of the processes of heat propagation in W/FeSb2/W detection pixel of the single photon thermoelectric detector

The results are presented of the computer modeling of the processes of heat propagation in the single layer detection pixel of the thermoelectric single photon detector after the absorption of photon with the energy of 1–1000 eV. The different geometries of the detection pixel consisting of the tungsten absorber and thermoelectric sensor from the strongly correlated FeSb2 semiconductor are considered. The differences of temporal dependence of the signal appearing on the sensor for various size of the sensitive pixel elements are studied in detail. The energy resolution and the count rate of the detector are estimated. It is shown that the FeSb2 sensor of thermoelectric detector provides the generation of significantly higher signal as compared with the CeB6 sensor and has the perspectives of application in the single photon detectors with the high energy resolution.

Investigation of processes of heat propagation in multilayer sensor of thermoelectric single-photon detector

The results of computer simulation of the processes of heat propagation inside the multilayer sensor of thermoelectric detector after absorbing the single photons with the energies 1 keV and 100 eV are presented. The variants are considered for different geometries of the sensor which consists of the tungsten absorber and of the thermoelectric layer of the cerium hexaboride. The differences of temporal dependence of the signal arising in the thermoelectric layer when the photon is absorbed in the various areas of absorber are studied in details. The energy resolution and the count rate of the sensor are estimated. It is shown that the multilayer sensors have a number of advantages as compared to the single-layered, and their use is promising in the various fields of science and technology.

Hexaborides of rare earths as a sensor material for thermoelectric single-photon detectors

We consider the prospects of crystals of cerium hexaboride CeB6 and lanthanum-cerium hexaborides (La,Ce)B6 as a sensitive element in the so-called QVD thermoelectric single-photon detectors, operating at cryogenic temperatures. We have collected and analyzed the values of thermoelectric parameters of CeB6 and (La,Ce)B6 available in the literature. On this basis we calculated the energy resolution and photon count rate of the future thermoelectric QVD detectors. We conclude that the detectors on CeB6 can register a single X-ray photon, and detectors on (La,Ce)B6 — a single UV photon.