The Potential and Challenges of Time-Resolved Sing

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
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The potential and challenges of time-resolved single photon detection

based on current-carrying superconducting nanowires
To cite this article before publication: Hengbin Zhang et al 2019 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. in press https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ab4146
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Page 1 of 32 AUTHOR SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPT - JPhysD-120008.R3
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3 1 The potential and challenges of time-resolved single photon detection
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5 2 based on current-carrying superconducting nanowires
6 3 Hengbin Zhang1, Lin Xiao1, Bingcheng Luo3, Jianghua Guo4, Labao Zhang5, Jun Xie1,2*
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9 5 Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology, Beijing, 100094, China
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10 6 Beijing institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing, 100094, China
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Department of Applied Physics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China
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8 School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
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14 9 Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
15 10 E-mail: xiejuncast001@163.com
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18 12 Abstract
19 13 Superconducting nanowire-based devices are being hailed as promising single photon
20 14 detectors that exhibit excellent combined properties. In particular, their unrivalled time-
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22 15 resolution ability has made these devices potentially revolutionary for the commercial ultrafast
23 16 single photon measurement and analysis fields. In this review, we present a detailed summary
24 17 of the influencing factors and the intrinsic physical mechanism of the temporal resolution in
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18 superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs). We elaborate on the two
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internal components of temporal resolution, the time response and time jitter, as well as on
many measurement methods and device structure modifications attempted to exclude
21 external interference, thus approaching the ultimate limits of time-resolved single photon
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31 22 detection. The investigation of the temporal resolution of SNSPDs not only sheds light on the
32 23 intrinsic physical mechanism but also contributes to time-related practical engineering
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33 24 applications.
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35 25 Key words: SNSPDs, temporal resolution, single photon detection, response time, timing jitter
36 26
37 27 1. Introduction
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28 Light is one of the main carriers of information related to life's activities. The conversion of
40 29 light into electrical signals is crucial to understanding the intrinsic properties of materials and
41 30 better take advantage of them. With the extensive work that has been put into developing
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31 new photon detection methods, the detection limits have been pushed to the point where it
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44 32 is possible to detect a single photon. Over the past few decades, a number of techniques with
45 33 sufficient sensitivity have been rapidly developed to detect single and few photons at room
46 34 temperature without complex readouts, such as the use of avalanche photodiodes (APDs),
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48 35 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), frequency up-conversion devices, quantum dot field-effect
49 36 transistors (QDFETs) or single electron transistors. However, combining the overall
50 37 performance parameters of these techniques to reach the stringent requirements of some
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38 optical quantum information applications remains a challenge. Due to the three orders of
53 39 magnitude lower energy gap (meV) than that in semiconductors (eV) and cryogenic operation
54 40 environments (K or even mK), superconducting photon detectors have shown outstanding
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41 performance in terms of a high sensitivity, low noise and a fast response. According to the
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57 42 different detection mechanisms and device structures, superconducting photon detectors can
58 43 be classified into superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs), superconducting tunnel
59 44 junctions (STJs), superconducting kinetic-inductive detectors (KIDs) and superconducting
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AUTHOR SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPT - JPhysD-120008.R3 Page 2 of 32
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3 1 hot-electron bolometers (HEBs). Their ultimate limit detection abilities, such as ultralow dark
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5 2 counts, photon energy resolution, ultrahigh noise-equivalent power and high quantum
6 3 efficiency, have enabled their widespread application in quantum precise sensing and
7 4 quantum computing. However, their relatively poor timing performance, in terms of both the
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5 response speed and stability, has restricted their application in demanding timing-required
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10 6 fields, such as quantum communication (QC), laser ranging, photon counting and resolution
11 7 and quantum mechanics experimental verification.
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8 During the last two decades, superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs)
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14 9 have been of great interest for ultrafast practical applications. These devices can be patterned
15 10 into ultrathin, sub-micrometre-wide meander types. They have shown very high quantum
16 11 efficiency, negligible dark counts in single photon detection and, in particular, an
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18 12 incomparable temporal resolution ability, orders of magnitude faster and more stable than
19 13 that of existing single photodetectors. The detection scenario is relatively simple and can be
20 14 phenomenologically sketched as follows: the nanostrip is biased just below its critical current,
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15 and when a photon irradiates the nanostrip, a localized resistive hot-electron cloud (called a
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23 16 hotspot) is created and triggers a voltage pulse that represents the signal of the incident
24 17 photon event. The intrinsic response mechanism of SNSPDs to a single photon is complicated
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18 and can be roughly divided into three successive steps: photon absorption in the
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superconducting nanostrips, generation of a hotspot and output of a response pulse of the
incidence event. Although the first and third stages are relatively well described, the dynamic
21 mechanism responsible for the generation of the normal-conducting domain, which
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31 22 fundamentally determines the response properties of the SNSPDs, is still under debate. After
32 23 photon absorption, the excited electrons will be thermalized and form the initial hotspot. The
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33 24 thermalization time of electrons is within a few picoseconds and is mainly dependent on the
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25 electron-electron inelastic scattering mechanisms.
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36 26 The evolution of the hotspot is affected by the detailed mechanisms of electron diffusion,
37 27 electron-phonon interaction and e-e inelastic scattering. The ascending order of the time
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28 scales is e-e inelastic scattering, electron diffusion, electron-phonon (e-p) interaction,
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40 29 phonon-electron (p-e) backflow interaction and phonon escape to the substrate. A diagram
41 30 of the formation and evolution of hotspots is depicted in Figure 1. The initial hot electron is
42 31 rapidly cooled, mostly through e-e scattering, and a large number of copper pairs is taken
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44 32 apart into an electron bubble; a minor path of energy dissipation is through e-p scattering,
45 33 and a relatively small amount of phonon bubble is generated. By e-p relaxation and e-e
46 34 diffusion, the initial resistive hotspot is formed with comparable numbers of electrons and
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35 phonons. With further growth of the hotspot, some Cooper pairs are recombined, and the
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49 36 temperature of the hotspot starts to decline. After a sufficiently long time scale, approximately
50 37 a nanosecond order of magnitude, the hotspot shrinks and ultimately disappears with the
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38 energy escape from the phonons to the substrate, and the Cooper pairs arrange in order
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53 39 again, waiting for the next photon to arrive.
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18 2 Figure 1 Diagram of the formation and evolution of hotspots as a single photon strikes
19 3 current-carrying superconducting nanowires. The green sphere, blue sphere, yellow elliptical
20 4 sphere and big red sphere represent the electrons, phonons, Cooper pairs and hotspot,
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5 respectively, and the depth colour of the red sphere indicates the temperature of the hotspot.
23 6 The two horizontal ordinates correspond to the time scale of electrons and phonons, and the
24 7 parameters τleak, τee, τth, τd, τep, τpe and τps represent the characteristic time scales of electron-
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8 phonon leakage, e-e inelastic scattering, electron thermalization, electron diffusion, electron-
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phonon interaction, phonon-electron relaxation and phonon-substrate escape, respectively.
11 With the fast development and broad application prospects of SNSPDs, the detection
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31 12 mechanism, device structures, properties and applications of this detector have been
32 13 described in detail in a series of reviews[1-3]. However, in recent years, although many
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33 14 theoretical and experimental studies have explored the temporal resolution of SNSPDs and
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15 attempted to use new readout circuit schemes and multi-pixel arrays to realize higher
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36 16 maximum count rates and lower timing jitter, further improving the temporal resolution or
37 17 even approaching the ultimate intrinsic limit is still challenging and is the basis of this review.
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18 The logic of this review is as follows. To comprehend the intrinsic physics of the temporal
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40 19 resolution and thereby guide further improvements for advanced applications, we will first
41 20 review the current understanding of the detection mechanism in SNSPDs in section 2. Then,
42 21 we present an overview of the time-related modern quantum optics applications of SNSPDs
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44 22 in section 3, both fundamental and practical. The main part of this paper will be section 4.
45 23 The temporal resolution consists mainly of two parts: the response time and timing jitter, and
46 24 the factors affecting both are analysed in detail. The influences of the readout circuit and
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25 multi-pixel arrays on the temporal resolution of SNSPDs are also elaborated in section 4. In
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49 26 section 5, we summarize the new device structure of SNSPDs, including the superconducting
50 27 nanowires, substrates and optically coupled structures. Finally, we end with a discussion and
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28 outlook on the further improvements and developments of temporal resolution in this field.
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54 30 2. Operation mechanism of SNSPDs
55 31 Understanding the response mechanism of SNSPDs is vital to illuminate the intrinsic physics
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32 of the temporal resolution and thereby crucial to further improve devices for extremely
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58 33 timing-demanding advanced applications. Increasing evidence indicates the essential role of
59 34 quantum mechanical-related behaviours in at least certain aspects of SNSPDs[3, 4]. Semenov
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3 1 and Gol’tsman first proposed the classical hotspot model to elucidate the detection
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5 2 mechanism of SNSPDs[5, 6]. The absorption of photons is assumed to generate numerous
6 3 quasi-particles (QPs). The QP cloud has a radius larger than the superconducting coherence
7 4 length ξ, and the normal-conducting core will then spread so that the current density around
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5 the normal core exceeds the critical current density, thus generating a voltage drop that
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10 6 represents the detection event. The time evolution of the number of QPs in the ξ-slab (tmax)
11 7 as well as in the whole nanowire (τth) were both calculated for a 1000 nm wavelength photon
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8 absorbed in a TaN film, as shown in Figure 2a[4]. The ξ-slab defines the minimum volume
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14 9 corresponding to the coherent length that has to switch from superconducting into the
15 10 normal conducting state. Immediately after the photon absorption (t=1 ps), the QPs are highly
16 11 concentrated in a very small volume, where leading to a significant suppression of
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18 12 superconductivity near the absorption site. Then at t=tmax=2.6 ps, the maximum number of
19 13 QPs in the ξ-slab is already reached. The total number of excess QPs in the complete strip
20 14 continues to increase until t=τth=10.5 ps, whereas a significant number of QPs has diffused
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15 out of the ξ-slab despite the relatively low diffusion coefficient Dqp at this low temperature,
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23 16 resulting in the faster drops of the concentration of QPs in the ξ-slab.
24 17 Although the hotspot model agrees with several experimental observations, such as the
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18 observed linear relation between the energy of incident photon and the detection threshold
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bias current[7], linear cut-off photon wavelength–nanowire width relation[8] and the
detection threshold bias current-temperature dependence at lower temperatures of
21 T/Tc<0.5[9], this model predicts a down-shift of the threshold bias current at higher
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31 22 temperatures of T/Tc > 0.5 and cannot explain the photon absorption position of threshold
32 23 bias current[10]. Furthermore, the hotspot model predicts a deterministic response: the
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33 24 detector responds to all photons of a particular energy, or it does not. It is contradictory to
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25 the experimental results that the count rates were exponentially decreased with reducing the
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36 26 bias current below the threshold bias current[11].
37 27 Therefore, the detection signal may be triggered by some type of thermal activation or
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28 quantum mechanical behaviour. A candidate for these fluctuations is a vortex, which becomes
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40 29 increasingly important, even essential, to the formation of the initial resistive domain that
41 30 triggers a detection event[12-14]. Below the Kosterlitz-Thouless topological transition,
42 31 vibration of vortex-antivortex pairs and pinned vortices or thermal activation of magnetic
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44 32 Pearl vortices over the potential barrier will cause dissociation of pairs or vortex entry from
45 33 one edge, resulting in dark and photon counts. Hence, the thermally excited hopping of
46 34 magnetic vortices can be obviously affected by the thermal coupling of the superconducting
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35 nanowire[15, 16]. By increasing the strength of the thermal coupling of the NbN nanowire to
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49 36 the heat sink or using stacked multi-layer pancake SNSPDs, the dark count rate can be
50 37 significantly suppressed due to the lower obstruction of the vortex movement across the
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38 nanowire potential barrier. The vortex-based model was further verified by a number of
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53 39 magnetic field transport measurements[17-20]. Recently, an experimental investigation of
54 40 MoSi SNSPDs indicated that the detection model is also photon energy-dependent[21]. The
55 41 detection of relatively high-energy photons (λ=450 nm) obeys the hotspot model, and there
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42 is no vortex-induced behaviour, but for lower energy photons (λ=1000 nm), it is probably
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58 43 related to vortex penetration from the edges of the film.
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24 2 Figure 2 (a) The calculated time evolution of the numbers of QPs for a 1000 nm wavelength
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3 photon absorbed by TaN SNSPDs. The marked τqp, tmax and τth represent the QP multiplication
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time, the maximum number of QPs in the slab of length equal to the coherence length and
the time of the maximum total number of QPs in the complete superconducting strip,
6 respectively. The x, y coordinate axis correspond to the different positions across the nanowire
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31 7 in the transverse direction and longitudinal direction, respectively. Adapted from reference
32 8 [4], copyright 2013, AIP Publishing LLC. (b) Schematic representation of the order parameter
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33 9 ψ=|ψ|eiθ and resistance as a function of time during photon switching. Absorption of the pulse
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10 leads to a transient reduction in the order parameter, eventually resulting in a state with more
36 11 PSCs and a higher resistance. The timing of the laser pulse and the phase slip configurations
37 12 are indicated. The right panel plots the phase-slip evolution using the 1D- TDGL equations.
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13 The x,y coordinate axis correspond to the different locations along the wire and the time
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40 14 period. Adapted from reference [26], CC BY-NC.
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42 16 Another candidate for these quantum fluctuations is phase slip. In 2004, Engel et al. ascribed
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44 17 the major source of dark counts to fluctuations in the superconducting order parameter[22].
45 18 Vodolazov et al. described the suppression of the superconducting order parameter, in which
46 19 a photon is absorbed, by solving the Ginzburg-Landau equation, and the results were
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20 coincident with recent experimental results[23]. Through electronic transport characterization
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49 21 of a 4 nm thick NbN film below 6 K, Delacour et al. found that no hotspot is formed and that
50 22 phase slips are stable even at the lowest temperatures[24]. The electrical transport properties
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23 of NbTiN also revealed the superconducting phase slip phenomena and superconducting-
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53 24 insulator transitions for superconducting nanowires[25]. Very recently, Madan et al. proposed
54 25 that in one-dimensional nanowires, the vortices must be replaced by fluctuating topological
55 26 phase defects, and photon transitions between different dynamically stable states can be
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27 detected and manipulated by ultrashort laser pulses[26], as illustrated in Figure 2b. The right
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58 28 panel plots the phase-slip evolution during one period in different locations along the
59 29 nanowire using the 1D time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equations. The observed
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3 1 transition behaviour can be understood in terms of the dynamic stabilization of various
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5 2 spatiotemporal periodic trajectories of the order parameters in the superconductor nanowire.
6 3 To sum up, no single physical model can explain all experimental observations. For relatively
7 4 high-energy photons, like X-rays, the hotspot model can explain most response behaviours.
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5 However, increasing evidence supports the essential role of some types of quantum
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10 6 fluctuations, such as vortex and phase slip, in the detection mechanisms of SNSPDs.
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8 3. Applications
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14 9 3.1 Time-related applications
15 10 The unrivalled time-resolved ability of SNSPDs makes them the detector of choice in time-
16 11 demanding fields, not only for fundamental research but also for system engineering
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18 12 applications. SNSPDs are widely used in quantum mechanics experimental verification. The
19 13 Hadfield group first applied an SNSPD system to characterize an InGaAs quantum dot single
20 14 photon source. They analysed the suitability of the twin SNSPD scheme for the
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15 characterization of single optically pumped, microcavity-coupled InGaAs QDs through
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23 16 Hanbury-Brown Twiss (HBT) interferometer measurement, which utilizes the correlation and
24 17 anti-correlation effects in the intensities received by two detectors from a beam of particles,
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18 and a spontaneous emission lifetime of 370 ps and a second-order correlation function (g(2))
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of 0.24 +/- 0.03[27] were obtained. Later, by directly integrating an SNSPD with a ridge
waveguide, a single integrated photonic device was achieved and characterized by an average
21 QD spontaneous emission timing jitter of only 72 ps[28]. Kahl et al. realized a waveguide-
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31 22 integrated single photon spectrometer capable of parallel multiple wavelength detection,
32 23 which could image silicon vacancy colour centres in diamond nanoclusters[29].
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33 24 In addition to the single photon source characterizations, SNSPDs can also improve the
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25 entangled photon pair generation and quantum state reconstruction with their low timing
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36 26 jitter, negligible dark count rate and inherent nonlinearities. By using SNSPDs at
37 27 approximately 50 MHz count rates in a 5-ps timing window, a coincidence to accidental-
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28 coincidence ratio > 80 and coherent interference fringe visibility > 98% were obtained without
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40 29 any data post-processing[30]. In addition, fidelity in generating 780 and 1522 nm
41 30 wavelength-entangled photon pairs as high as 0.93 +/- 0.04 was achieved with SNSPD-based
42 31 difference frequency conversion[31].
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24 2 Figure 3(a) Schematic of the MDIQKD system. Alice and Bob are two identical legitimate users,
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3 and the twin SNSPD constitutes a Bell state measurement device. Inset: the components of
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the MDIQKD setup. Adapted from reference [34], copyright 2016, American Physical Society.
(b) Diagram of the SLR system based on SNSPDs as a photon detection module and the
6 astronomical calibration and navigation system. Adapted from reference [37], copyright 2016,
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31 7 Optical Society of America.
32 8
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33 9 The excellent timing properties of SNSPDs are extremely desirable in the field of system
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10 engineering applications. The Yamamoto group first applied an SNSPD system to 200 km
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36 11 dispersion-shifted fibre-based quantum key distribution (QKD) with a 12.1 bit/s secure key
37 12 rate and a 42 dB channel loss, which was the first 10 GHz clock QKD system[32]. By using
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13 SNSPDs with lower dark counts of 0.01 cps, the length of the QKD increased to 336 km (72
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40 14 dB loss), and the quantum bit error rate decreased to below 3%. To test the robustness of the
41 15 QKD system to hacking attack, the SNSPD chip was blindly illuminated for a period of 1 ms,
42 16 and the generated fake voltage pulse did not lead to a significantly elevated timing jitter,
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44 17 which proved the anti-attack ability of the SNSPD-based QKD system[33]. Recently, Pan’s
45 18 group extended the measurement-device-independent QKD (MDIQKD) to over 404 km using
46 19 ultralow-loss optical fibre and an optimized four-intensity decoy-state approach[34]. The
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20 schematic of the entire MDIQKD system is shown in Figure 3a, where the twin SNSPDs
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49 21 constitute a Bell state measurement device. This system achieved a new distance record for
50 22 QKD and broke the traditional Bennett-Brassard protocol.
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23 Another notable system engineering application of SNSPDs is remote and eye-safe laser
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53 24 ranging with low energy levels, which is strongly dependent on the time properties of the
54 25 single photon detector. Employing an SNSPD-based time-correlated single photon counting
55 26 (TCSPC) system, You’s group first demonstrated a 4 mm depth resolution for 115 m distance
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27 time-of-flight laser ranging at a 1550 nm wavelength[35]. Then, they conducted a satellite
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58 28 laser ranging (SLR) laboratory principle verification experiment at a 532 nm wavelength using
59 29 the NbN SNSPD, and the equivalent depth ranging precision for the LARES satellite was 8
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3 1 mm[36]. Practical space-to-ground laser ranging measurement based on SNSPDs has just
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5 2 become a reality at the Yunnan Observatory of China[37], as shown in Figure 3b. At a
6 3 wavelength of 1064 nm, long-distance laser ranging of the target satellites Cryosat (1600 km),
7 4 Ajisai (3100 km), and Glonass (19,500 km) was experimentally tested, with mean reflection
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5 count rates of 1200/min, 4200/min, and 320/min, respectively, which indicated the feasibility
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10 6 of remote laser ranging for satellites from low Earth orbit to geostationary Earth orbit using
11 7 an SNSPD system.
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8 Moreover, optical coherence-domain reflectometry (OCDR), an optical technique that
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15 10 holds great potential for few-photon imaging applications. Mohan et al. first demonstrated
16 11 an OCDR system that consisted of NbN SNSPDs and chirped periodically poled LiTaO3[38].
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18 12 Due to the broadband wavelength region ranging from 700 to 1500 nm and the count rates
19 13 being as high as 100 MHz, coherence-domain images for a variety of samples, such as a
20 14 mirror, could be constructed. Taking advantage of the high efficiency and ultrafast temporal
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15 resolution of SNSPDs, Zhao et al. integrated SNSPDs into optical time domain reflectometry
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23 16 (OTDR) systems and achieved a 46.9 dB dynamic range corresponding to a 20 m two-point
24 17 resolution and a 209.47 km sensing distance[39]. Recently, SNSPD-based systems have been
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true random number generators (TRNGs)[40], optical near-field interaction
characterization[41], single photon imagers[42] and dual-frequency Doppler lidars[43].
21 3.2 Multi-wavelength applications
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31 22 SNSPDs are distinguished by their outstanding performance in the visible and near-infrared
32 23 wavelengths. However, their application field can be extended to other wavelengths of
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33 24 photons, even to electrons and biomolecules, where the temporal resolution is also
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25 challenging but critical. At terahertz wavelengths, Valavanis et al. used antenna-coupled
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36 26 SNSPDs to measure nanosecond time-resolved photons from a terahertz quantum cascade
37 27 laser, which cannot be accomplished using traditional bolometric or hot-electron
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28 detectors[44]. At ultraviolet wavelengths, Wollman et al. designed and fabricated ultraviolet
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40 29 SNSPDs with the combined properties of high quantum efficiency (>70%), negligible dark
41 30 count rates (0.25/hour) and high timing resolution (sub-ns)[45]. Inderbitzin’s group first
42 31 investigated the possibility of using SNSPDs for continuous photon detection at soft X-ray
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44 32 wavelengths. The device parameters and operation conditions of X-SNSPDs are quite
45 33 different from those of infrared or optical SNSPDs. Generally, the superconducting film is
46 34 much thicker (100 nm) to ensure acceptable quantum efficiency. Meanwhile, the tolerance to
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35 bias currents for an X-SNSPD spans a wide range. The device can respond to a single photon
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49 36 at a bias current as low as 1% Ic, and the negligible dark count rates are maintained as the bias
50 37 current is increased to 99% Ic. Furthermore, the ultrafast rise and recovery of the bias current
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38 make the X-SNSPD susceptible to latching at all temperatures, which could be improved by
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53 39 modifying the device geometry[46, 47].
54 40 In addition, SNSPDs can be used for the detection of ions with low kinetic energies[48]. The
55 41 different responses observed for photons and atoms are due to the changed surface
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42 conditions of the detector. Nb0.7Ti0.3N SNSPDs demonstrated the ability for single electron
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58 43 detection, although the backscattered electrons triggered some irregular events outside the
59 44 active area of the device[49]. Detection of alpha- and beta-particles was also demonstrated,
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3 1 with unprecedented overall performance. The detection efficiency was close to unity, with
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5 2 excellent spatial resolution[50]. These detectors were blind to gamma rays from different
6 3 sources, unlike the current macroscopic particle detectors.
7 4 Furthermore, the high timing accuracy of SNSPDs is promising for obtaining the mass spectra
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5 of biomolecules to characterize biomacromolecule systems. Using a large-area 200×200 µm _
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10 6 Nb nanostrip, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) of angiotensin I and lysozyme was
11 7 realized with a voltage pulse rise time and relaxation time of approximately 400 and 500ps,
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8 respectively[51]. By introducing a time-to-digital converter, the count rate was increased, and
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14 9 hence, the mass spectra statistics were improved. Zen et al. utilized other superconducting
15 10 materials, such as Nb and YBCO, which have faster response times and similar response times
16 11 at higher temperatures, respectively, compared to those of NbN. The relationship between
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18 12 SNSPD geometry and performance was investigated[52-55]. Casaburi et al. realized a TOF-
19 13 MS system with a parallel strip-line configuration with a 2 x 2 mm2 sensitive area for heavy
20 14 biomolecules. They obtained a sub-nanosecond rise time and a few nanoseconds fall time
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15 with the keV energy range of molecular ions. Such parallel SNSPDs also enabled
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23 16 discrimination of the charge states of singly and doubly charged monomers and singly
24 17 charged dimers[56]. In conclusion, the outstanding temporal resolution has obviously
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18 expanded the application areas of SNSPDs not only to multi-wavelength photons but also to
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a wide variety of analytes.
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21 4. The temporal resolution of SNSPDs
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31 22 The temporal resolution of a single photon detector is the minimal time interval between
32 23 successively arriving photons, which can be distinguished in the response voltage pulse. For
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33 24 SNSPDs, differing definitions of temporal resolution are found in the literature, and we
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25 decomposed them into the response time and time jitter given by Sobolewski et al.[57, 58].
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36 26 Considering the response time-induced temporal resolution, the subsequent photon will be
37 27 lost if the detector has not recovered from the preceding incidental photon, and this temporal
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28 resolution is fundamentally determined by the intrinsic formation of the hotspot and the time
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40 29 evolution of the normal-conducting domain. The limitation of the time jitter originates from
41 30 the uncertainty of the photon arrival time, which will give rise to indistinguishability or even
42 31 errors in the time stamps of the photon sequence. Although the microscopic detection
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44 32 mechanism of SNSPDs is not absolutely clear, increasing evidence indicates that the temporal
45 33 resolution is not only affected by the external operation conditions and device structure but
46 34 also depends on the intrinsic physical mechanism and material parameters, such as the
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35 thermalization of QPs, energy transfer between the electrons and phonons, relaxation of
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49 36 hotspots, and the distribution of electronic and geometric inhomogeneities.
50 37 4.1 The response time
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38 The response time is an essential factor that fundamentally determines the maximum count
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53 39 rates of SNSPDs and is mainly limited by the kinetic inductance and input impedance of
54 40 readout circuits[59]. From the voltage output, the response time consists of the rise time and
55 41 fall time, i.e., tresponse= trise+tfall. The rise time corresponds to the transition time of the nanowire
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42 from superconducting state to normal state, and the fall time refer to the converse transition,
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58 43 which frequently refers to relaxation time. Slysz et al. measured the rise time, fall time and
59 44 FWHM of the photon response signal of fibre-coupled NbN SNSPDs to be 250 ps, 5 ns and
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3 1 approximately 2.5 ns, respectively, which were limited by the meander high kinetic
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5 2 inductance[60]. Recently, Smirnov et al. observed that the rise time of the voltage pulse
6 3 nonlinearly increases from 150 ps to 400 ps with increasing meander nanowire length from
7 4 20 to 605 µm[61], as illustrated in Figure 4a, and they explained this phenomenon by taking
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5 into account the larger normal-conducting domain for longer nanowires and hence larger
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10 6 kinetic inductance Lk. Suzuki et al. further confirmed the effects of kinetic inductance on the
11 7 time resolution of SNSPD-based TOF-MS. Due to the smaller kinetic inductance with wider
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8 linewidth, the rise time and relaxation time for angiotensin 1 detection were 640 ps and 22
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14 9 ns, respectively, for nanowires with 200 nm linewidths and were 360 ps and 9 ns, respectively,
15 10 for nanowires with 300 nm linewidths[62]. Due to the direct proportion of the nanowire length
16 11 to the detection efficiency, there is a trade-off between the kinetic inductance and the
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18 12 detection efficiency. To solve this problem, the kinetic inductance can be reduced through
19 13 optical fibre coupling to a smaller active area, which can improve the timing performance of
20 14 SNSPDs (relaxation time<2 ns, timing jitter < 25 ps) without sacrificing the detection
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15 efficiency[63]. Recently, by aligning the nanowire perpendicular to the waveguide, the length
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23 16 of the nanowire was reduced to below 1 µm, which not only overcame the limitation of the
24 17 kinetic inductance but also enhanced the detection efficiency by more than an order of
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However, if the response of the SNSPDs speeds up too rapidly, then joule heating will produce
a self-heating hotspot, resulting in the device being locked in a resistive state called
30 I0
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21 latching[65]. By defining a damping coefficient  =  th /  e , where  th is a thermal time
4 I ss
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34 22 constant and  e is a recovery time constant, the latching effect is determined by the ratio of
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36 23 the electrical and thermal time constants and can be elucidated and is quantitatively
37 24 consistent with a set of experimental results. To avoid latching, gated-mode operation of a
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25 bistable superconducting nanowire system was introduced, and a 625 MHz count rate was
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40 26 obtained with a large active area and a low dark count rate[66]. Similarly, Liu et al. attributed
41 27 the latching to improper bias of SNSPDs and adopted a quasi-constant-voltage bias
42 28 approach to obtain a higher signal-to-noise ratio and a smaller timing jitter without
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44 29 latching[67]. Annunziata et al. investigated the intrinsic dynamics of latching in Nb SNSPDs

45 30 and found that latching occurred when the hotspot cooling time was longer than the inductive
46 31 time constant, which can be avoided by decreasing the temperature-dependent e-p inelastic
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32 scattering time[68]. However, the heat transfer cannot be enhanced infinitely; although the
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49 33 response time can be very rapid without latching, the nanowire will miss the photon because
50 34 the excited hotspot will disappear too quickly to respond.
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24 2 Figure 4 The different response time-related characteristics of SNSPDs. (a) Experimental and
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3 theoretical rise time of the response signal as a function of nanowire length in a NbN SNSPD.
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Inset: Experimental and theoretical nanowire length dependence of the response time.
Adapted from reference [61], copyright 2016, AIP Publishing LLC. (b) Electron-phonon
6 relaxation time measured from a hot-electron experiment for three TiN samples. The fitted
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31 7 solid line shows the T-3 temperature dependence of τep. Adapted from reference [72],
32 8 copyright 2013, AIP Publishing LLC. (c) Time evolution of the injected energy going into the
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33 9 electronic system (Ee) under different γ and initial conditions. (Inset) The dynamics of Ee under
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10 an electron-bubble initial condition. The dashed lines indicate the linear dependence
36 11 Ee=Ephoton(1-t/τleak). Adapted from reference [75], copyright 2017, American Physical Society. (d)
37 12 Normalized detection probability as a function of the pump-probe photon relaxation time
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13 for different bias currents. The solid lines indicate the Lorentzian fit of the measured curves.
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40 14 Adapted from reference [79], copyright 2017, Optical Society of America.
41 15
42 16 Although the response time is obviously limited by the large kinetic inductance and external
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44 17 readout circuits, the intrinsic generation and evolution dynamics of QPs determine the lower
45 18 limit of the response time[5, 6, 69]. Lindgren et al. first reported femtosecond time-resolved
46 19 measurements with a YBCO microbridge[70]. Using pump-probe spectroscopy
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20 measurements and Rothwarf-Taylor theory, they measured and simulated the timing
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49 21 parameters, i.e., the electron thermalization time, e-p relaxation time, p-e scattering time and
50 22 QP recombination time, to be 0.56, 1.1, 42 and 0.86 ps, respectively. A similar time-resolved
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23 measurement based on Hg-based high-temperature superconducting (HTS) implied that the

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53 24 Cooper pair breaking and formation processes are not limited by the phonon bottleneck[71].
54 25 Hence, the ultrafast electron thermalization time relative to the e-p interaction time of HTS
55 26 indicated that the hot-electron process, as the primary determinant of the response time for
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27 HTS, totally dominated the early stages of electron relaxation.
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58 28 In contrast to HTS thin film-based SNSPDs, the hotspot relaxation time (τhs) in low-
59 29 temperature superconducting material-based SNSPDs is determined primarily by the e-p
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3 1 interaction time, but the electron thermalization time cannot be totally neglected[6].
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5 2 Kardakova et al. directly measured the e-p relaxation time in disordered TiN films using the
6 3 hot-electron experimental setup, which coincides with the T-3 relation for three samples with
7 4 different thicknesses as illustrated in Figure 4b[72]. The magnetoconductance measurements
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5 in two-dimensional amorphous WSi films revealed τe-e and τe-p to be approximately 7 ps and
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10 6 100 ps, respectively[73]. The ratio of the specific heat capacities of electrons and phonons,
11 7 Ce/Cp, equal to τp-e/τe-p within the two temperature models[74], was provided by optical
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8 photoresponse measurements and the kinetic-equation approach[75], as illustrated in Figure
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14 9 4c. The time scale of the injected energy diffusion to the electronic and phonon system is
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16 8 2 Ce
10 dependent on coefficient  from 1 to 100, where  = T =Tc . For γ =100, the
17 5 Cph
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19 11 majority of the injected energy has already shared between electrons and phonons subsystem
20 12 by the time t ≃ 0.001τ0, and this equilibrium time increases with a decrease of γ. Hence,
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13 Larger τe-p/τe-e and τe-p /τp-e ratios indicate that the photon energy is more efficiently confined
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23 14 in the electron subsystem and that a larger hotspot size (~100 nm in WSi[76] and ~23 nm in
24 15 NbN[77]) will occur.
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16 In addition to the above intrinsic QP time scales, the relaxation time is also material-
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dependent and affected by the working conditions. The kinetic theoretical model and two-
photon detection experiments based on pump-probe spectroscopy indicate that the τhs of a
19 WSi superconducting nanowire is proportional to the bias current, the temperature or the
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31 20 excitation energy[76, 78]. Ferrari et al. systematically investigated the hotspot relaxation
32 21 dynamics in NbN waveguide-integrated SNSPDs over a broad bias current range[79]. Using
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33 22 the near-infrared pump-probe technique operating in the two-photon regime, they
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23 observed a rapidly increasing relaxation time for higher bias currents, as illustrated in Figure
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36 24 4d. With increasing the bias currents toward the departing current, the second incident
37 25 photon can trigger a detection event even after relatively longer time interval of the
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26 absorption of the first photon. By extracting the HWHM of the Lorentzian fit of the
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40 27 measurement curve, a minimum relaxation time of approximately 22 ps was obtained when
41 28 the bias current corresponded to 50% of the critical current. The bias current dependence of
42 29 detector tomography is a criterion to estimate the photon detection regimes, which involves
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44 30 a short slab for conventional SNSPDs compared with other photon number resolution (PNR)
45 31 detectors. In addition, the dependence of τhs on the bath temperature, nanowire linewidth,
46 32 substrate material and quality of the superconducting film was also systematically investigated
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33 for NbN SNSPDs[80]. In addition to the strong influence of the bias current, τhs was also
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49 34 strongly affected by the substrates, such as Si, MgO, MgF2 and Al2O3. The minimum and
50 35 maximum τhs values were 11.6 and 34.5 ps for the MgO (100) and Si (100) substrates,
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36 respectively. To summarize, the affecting factors of the response time of SNSPD are
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53 37 complicated. It is intrinsically determined by the QPs evolution and interaction process, such
54 38 as electron diffusion, electron-phonon interaction, e-e inelastic scattering and so on. In
55 39 addition, the operation parameter, such as nanowire thickness, bias current, temperature,
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40 substrate and so on, significantly influence the response time of SNSPDs as summarized in
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58 41 Table 1. Generally, the response process can divided into two successive steps, the formation
59 42 and relaxation of a hotspot, which corresponds to the rise and fall time of the voltage pulse.
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3 1 The former is generally faster than the latter, but both are influenced by many intrinsic and
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5 2 operation parameters. We can synthetically design the specific parameters to further improve
6 3 the response time in the future.
7 4 4.2 The timing jitter (response time stability)
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5 The timing jitter is another key temporal resolution parameter that denotes the deviation of
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10 6 the arrival time of a single photon from an ideal periodic response voltage pulse and
11 7 fundamentally limits the accurate determination of the photon arrival times in time correlation
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8 measurements. Especially for the time-tagged photon sequence, the fluctuation of the arrival
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14 9 time will result in errors and pose a fundamental limitation to the accuracy of time stamp-
15 10 related experiments. Recently, many groups have reported lower timing jitter values, and the
16 11 system jitter induced by the instruments has been thoroughly analysed and discussed[81, 82].
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18 12 In the TCSPC measurement system, You et al. derived the SNSPD system timing jitter as:
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20 13 jsystem = 2
jint r + jSNR + jlaser + jSYNC + jSPC , where jintr, jSNR, jlaser, jSYNC and jSPC are, respectively,
2 2 2 2
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14 the intrinsic jitter, the jitter induced by the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the jitter from the
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23 15 laser, the jitter from the synchronization signal and the jitter from the TCSPC module. For
24 16 NbN SNSPDs working at 1550 nm, the typical values of the last four factors are 5, 0.1, 4.0 and
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17 7.6 ps, respectively. The factors jSNR, jSYNC and jSPC are determined by readout circuits, which can
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be overcome in the future with the rapid development of low-noise cryogenic amplifiers; we
will provide a detailed review of SNSPD-based readout circuits in section 4.4. However, the
20 origin of the intrinsic timing jitter affects the underlying detection mechanism of SNSPDs,
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31 21 which remains elusive; recent simulation results estimated it to be approximately 1 ps[83],
32 22 which is one order of magnitude smaller than the lowest measurement thus far.
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33 23 The first intrinsic timing jitter is position-dependent timing jitter, which is induced from the
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24 different positions where the photon arrived at the nanowire, both longitudinally and
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36 25 transversely. Pearlman et al. first proposed that transverse position-dependent photon
37 26 absorption can contribute to the timing jitter. Owing to the smaller size hotspot that occurs
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27 when the photon is absorbed close to the edge of the stripe relative to the centre, the higher
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40 28 maximum temperature rise of electron Te will lead to a sharp increase in the delay time
41 29 compared to when the photon strikes the nanowire centre[84]. Recently, Hu et al. proposed
42 30 that the position-dependent response time induced by the vortex-crossing process varied
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44 31 with the fluctuation of the cross-section of the nanowire where the photons are absorbed[83],
45 32 as illustrated in Figure 5b, and they demonstrated the cross-section fluctuation-induced
46 33 timing jitter by characterizing the dependence of the timing jitter on the bias current, the
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34 nanowire width and the polarization of the photon. It must be pointed out that the timing
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49 35 jitter induced by the uncertainty of the photon absorption along the transverse direction is
50 36 tiny, less than 1 ps, and can be decreased by narrowing down the width of the nanowire, but
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37 its intrinsic characteristic makes it rather difficult to overcome.

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53 38 Another type of position-dependent timing jitter is longitudinal. Berdiyorov et al. confirmed
54 39 the longitudinal spatially dependent of the photon response. The maximal sensitivity occurs
55 40 when the photon acts on the centre of the nanowire, away from the turning point [85], as
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41 shown in Figure 5a. If we regard the superconducting nanowire as a transmission line, the
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58 42 contribution of the geometric jitter cannot be neglected, especially when the length and area
59 43 of the SNSPD increase. When the size of the SNSPD device increases from 3×3 mm to 20×20
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mm , the variation in the differential propagation time increases from a few picoseconds to
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5 2 approximately 50 ps and can be suppressed by 20% using the differential cryogenic
6 3 readout[86]. Sidorova et al. systematically investigated the underlying physical mechanisms
7 4 of the intrinsic timing jitter, and they divided the position-dependent jitter jlocal into jbend and
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10 6 illustrated in Figure 5c, with decreasing photon energy and bias current, the detection
11 7 scenario transitions from a deterministic regime to a probabilistic regime, where the intrinsic
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8 jitter is mainly determined by the straight parts of meanders and areas adjacent to the
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14 9 bends[87, 88]. Compared with the transverse position-dependent timing jitter, the
15 10 longitudinal position-dependent timing jitter is greater and positive to the total length of the
16 11 nanowire, but it can be suppressed by nanowire structure variance and new readout
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18 12 electronics, as stated in section 4.3 and 4.4.
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41 16 Figure 5 The different factors affecting the timing jitter in SNSPDs. (a) Voltage response as a
42 17 function of the photon absorption location near the inner corner. Adapted from reference
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44 18 [85], copyright 2012, AIP Publishing LLC. (b) Schematic drawing of the cross-section
45 19 uncertainty-induced timing jitter and local Josephson voltage variance in SNSPDs. The total
46 20 output voltage is the photons absorbed at one edge of the nanowire (x0=45 nm) or on the
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21 central line of the nanowire (x0=0). Adapted from reference [83], copyright 2017, AIP
49 22 Publishing LLC. (c) Contributions to the local jitter from bends (triangles) and straight wires
50 23 (circles) with varied bias current. Open and closed symbols correspond to wavelengths of
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24 1560 and 800 nm, respectively. Adapted from reference [87], copyright 2017, American
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53 25 Physical Society. (d) Simulation of the electronic inhomogeneity- or disorder fluctuation-
54 26 induced random local variations of the critical temperature along the nanowire. Adapted from
55 27 reference [93], copyright 2013, IEEE. (e) Simulation of the effect of random fluctuations in the
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28 width and thickness on the inhomogeneity-induced timing jitter. Adapted from reference [95],
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58 29 copyright 2017, AIP Publishing LLC.
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3 1 A distributed inhomogeneity, such as a defect or a constriction, is another cause of the
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5 2 intrinsic timing jitter. Experimental results have shown the strongly inhomogeneous nature of
6 3 NbN films on the sub-100 nm scale[89], which has a significant influence on the performance
7 4 of SNSPDs, such as the observed large detection efficiency fluctuation[90, 91] and reduced
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5 detection efficiency with a single defect or constriction[92]. Hortensius et al. simulated
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10 6 electronic inhomogeneity- or disorder fluctuation-induced random local variations of the
11 7 critical temperature along the nanowire[93], as illustrated in Figure 5d, which coincided with
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8 the stepwise pattern of the current-voltage curve. O'Connor et al. proved that constrictions
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14 9 arising from device fabrication induced up to 20 ps of timing jitter from high- and low-
15 10 sensitivity parts of the device[94]. Recently, combining the electro-thermal model with the
16 11 Monte-Carlo method, the effects of random electronic and geometric fluctuations were
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18 12 simulated, and the distributed inhomogeneity induced most of the total sub-15-ps timing
19 13 jitter[95], as shown in Figure 5e. The inhomogeneity and localized constrictions generated
20 14 different local properties of the hotspots, restricted the maximum bias current, slowed the
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15 thermal relaxation time and consequently increased the inhomogeneity-induced timing jitter.
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23 16 Some experiments demonstrated that the fluctuations in the SNSPD response are dominated
24 17 by the distributed inhomogeneity for wide nanowires[96] (>90 nm) and are significantly
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18 influenced by Fano fluctuations for narrow nanowires[97] (<30 nm). By introducing artificial
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constrictions into nanowires, the factors affecting the inhomogeneity-induced timing jitter
were investigated[98], and the results could be used to minimize the intrinsic timing jitter and
21 shed light on its underlying mechanism.
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31 22 Finally, Fano fluctuations caused by the branching processes, which result in variations in the
32 23 fractions of energy deposited between the subsystems, such as electrons and phonons, are
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33 24 known to determine the theoretical limit of spectral resolution and the noise characteristics
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25 of superconducting sensors, such as STJs and MKIDs. In 2017, Caloz et al. characterized the
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36 26 bias current dependence of the detection probability for MoSi SNSPDs at the 750-2050 nm
37 27 wavelength range and found results indicative of Fano fluctuations in the nonlinear energy-
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28 current relation[99]. Recently, Kozorezov et al. proposed that especially in narrow nanowire
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40 29 SNSPDs, the Fano fluctuation-induced timing jitter overwhelmed the position-dependent
41 30 response uncertainty and was the most notable factor in the width of the error function of
42 31 the timing jitter[96]. It should be noted that Fano fluctuations determine the theoretical
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44 32 ultimate limit for the timing jitter of an SNSPD[100] and will be the last remaining challenges
45 33 to advancing the performance of SNSPDs into a sub-picosecond timing jitter.
46 34 4.3 Multiple array nanowire structures
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35 The temporal resolution of generally meander-shaped SNSPDs is mutually exclusive with
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49 36 some other detector performance metrics, such as the quantum efficiency and dark counts.
50 37 To overcome these limitations, some multiple array nanowire structures, such as the
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38 superconducting nanowire avalanche single photon detectors (SNAPs), multi-element

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53 39 SNSPDs (MESNSPDs) and the combination of both, are proposed. Ejrnaes et al. first designed
54 40 SNAPs with 5 parallel connection nanowires based on a cascade switching mechanism, which
55 41 lowers the detector inductance compared with the same coverage area single-meander
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42 nanowire and reduces the response time to well below 1 ns[101]. The slow decrease in the
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58 43 signal pulse fall time to 7.8 ns for a detector area as large as 84×84 µm permits a higher
59 44 maximum count rate and fully exploits the available cooling power. However, the timing jitter
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3 1 values were comparable to conventional meander SNSPDs, even asymmetric ones, and 1.5
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5 2 times larger at a high bias current of 235 µA. Later, the response time and timing jitter were
6 3 further reduced to 200 ps and 54 ps with N = 8[102] and 12[103] parallel nanowires,
7 4 respectively, as shown in Figure 6a. By further increasing N to 24 parallel nanowires, the time-
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5 resolved hotspot evolution in SNSPDs was directly visualized, and a 1-ns time delay was
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10 6 observed between the maximum hotspot relaxation rate and the maximum hotspot
11 7 expansion rate, which open a new approach to investigate the time-resolved physics
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8 mechanism of the hotspot for the future[104].
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14 9 Additionally, to increase the number of parallel nanowires, a range of papers has studied
15 10 temporal resolution improvement through narrowing the nanowire width of SNAPs. Marsili
16 11 et al. first reported SNAPs with ultranarrow (<30 nm) nanowires, which were shown to be
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18 12 more robust to constrictions and increased the voltage amplitude by a factor of 4 compared
19 13 to the standard ~100 nm-wide nanowire[97]. The reset time of such ultranarrow SNAPs could
20 14 be sped up to approximately 1 ns at the expense of an unstable operating regime, a threshold
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15 bias current and afterpulsing[105]. However, the timing jitter of ultranarrow SNAPs is bias
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23 16 current-dependent. For a bias current close to the critical current, the timing jitter was
24 17 comparable to that of conventional SNSPDs, sub-35 ps, while for a lower bias current, the
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and disordered, thereby inducing a larger timing jitter[106].
Recent investigations found that MESNSPD design significantly influences the temporal
21 resolution of SNSPDs, including both the response time and timing jitter. Additionally, by
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31 22 combining an array of pixels through spatial or temporal multiplexing, SNSPDs can also have
32 23 PNR ability[107, 108]. PNR ability is often researched using prototypes for quantum
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33 24 information applications, especially for linear optics quantum computation, and PNR is crucial
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25 for reducing errors. Dauler et al. first tested the high temporal performance of an MESNSPD
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36 26 with a sub-30-ps timing jitter. Four times the maximum count rate was achieved with PNR
37 27 ability, which is suitable for second-order intensity correlation measurements without the
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28 requirement for a beam splitter[109]. By using nano-optical techniques and spatially
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40 29 separated pixels of parallel wires, the triggering regimes of single and multiple photons could
41 30 be explicitly distinguished, demonstrating a faster timing response in the two-pixel trigger
42 31 regime than the one-pixel regime. With each element fully integrated into an independent
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44 32 waveguide circuit, the 20*12 matrix of SNSPDs showed a 455-ps decay time with a 20-µm
45 33 total nanowire length and an 18.4-ps jitter limited by the oscilloscope bandwidth of 6
46 34 GHz[110].
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Publishing LLC. (a) Equivalent circuit diagram of the parallel structure detector, and timing
characteristics of five- and twelve-parallel-nanowire devices. (b) Equivalent circuit of the
6 2×3-SNAP, and single-shot voltage patterns from a standard SNSPD, the series-3-SNAP,
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31 7 the 2×2-SNAP, the 2×3-SNA8P, and the 3×3-SNAP. Adapted from reference [112],
32 8 copyright 2017, IEEE.
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10 Recently, a novel design combined the advantages of SNAPs and multi-element series
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36 11 SNSPDs to improve the timing performance and the signal-to-noise ratio. Miki et al. achieved
37 12 a 7.65-fold improvement in the response speed compared with that of standard SNSPDs and
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13 a 68-ps timing jitter with two serially connected SNAPs (SC-2SNAPs)[111]. Based on this novel
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40 14 structure design, Cheng et al. fabricated five different designs, including standard SNSPDs,
41 15 series-3-SNAPs, and three modified double-stage avalanche structures, k×m-SNAPs (k=2,
42 16 m=2; k=2, m=3; and k=3, m=3), and compared the output voltage patterns of these five
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44 17 different designs, as shown in Figure 6b. The exponential decay times were proportional to
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45 18 1/(k×m) and were the fastest at 0.89 ns for the 3×3-SNAPs and slowest at 63.2 ns for the
46 19 standard SNSPDs, which can be ascribed to the lack of choke inductors[112]. It is believed
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20 that a novel multiarray variant of the meander nanowire structure in the future should shed
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50 22 resolution of SNSPDs.
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=11 mm) and an LDD (long delay detector- ld2 =20 mm). Adapted from reference [116],
copyright 2013, IEEE. (b) Schematic of the timing correlation of two arrival pulses, and the
5 timing jitter histogram based on two coincidence SNSPDs integrated with an SFQ circuit.
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31 6 Adapted from reference [123], copyright 2018, AIP Publishing LLC.
32 7 4.4 Relevant readout electronics
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33 8 The timing performance of SNSPDs is greatly influenced by the readout electronics that sense
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9 and amplify the photon detection signal. Room temperature readout electronics are straight-
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36 10 forward and easy to access. Zhao et al. increased the count rate by four times and removed
37 11 the circuit limits by adding a grounded capacitor to the conventional readout circuits[113]. A
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12 TCSPC circuit can also be integrated with SNSPDs[114, 115], which enables good arrival time
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40 13 accuracy close to the intrinsic timing jitter, as low as approximately 17 ps. Additionally, the
41 14 time-tagged multiplexed readout of small SNSPD arrays based on TCSPC allows the high
42 15 temporal and spatial resolution of single photon detection using only a narrow planar delay
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44 16 line[116]. A proof of concept experiment consisting of two detector elements validated the
45 17 predictability and discrimination of two successive photons, as shown in Figure 7a. Recently,
46 18 Doerner et al. took advantage of KIDs and SNSPDs and introduced the concept of the radio-
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19 frequency superconducting nanowire single photon detector (RF-SNSPD)[117, 118], which
48
49 20 allows the convenient frequency division multiplexing of SNSPD arrays with only one feed line.
50 21 The 16-pixel RF-SNSPD simultaneously possesses good temporal resolution and spatial
51
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22 resolution and PNR ability, and a single pixel requires only a bandwidth of 14 MHz, which
52
53 23 presents promising prospects for large-scale array integration.
54 24 Due to the limited cooling power of the compact cryostat and the relatively large thermal
55 25 conductivity of the room temperature connection lines, the large-scale array integration of
56
26 SNSPDs has been severely restricted by room temperature readout electronics. Therefore,
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57
58 27 various low-noise cryogenic readout electronics have been developed. The improved readout
59 28 electronics of the high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT)-based readout technique
60
18
1
2
3 1 integrated with an SNSPD detector and a high-load resistor have a photon-energy resolution
4
5 2 ability and can discriminate dark pulses from actual photon pulses by comparing output pulse
6 3 amplitude distributions[119, 120]. Compared with semiconductor amplifiers, superconducting
7 4 single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits combine the advantages of microwatt power dissipation,
8
5 GHz count rates, a sub-10-ps timing jitter and a large-scale array integration ability, which
pt
9
10 6 are especially suitable for multi-pixel SNSPD readout[121, 122]. The measured input pulse
11 7 duration and timing jitter were 1.6 ns and 37 ps, respectively, which were both better than
12
8 those of the conventional readout without an SFQ readout circuit. Recently, researchers
13
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14 9 integrated two SNSPDs with an SFQ circuit and achieved a 32.3-ps timing jitter for the entire
15 10 coincidence detection system, which is approximately two times lower than that for the
16 11 commercial TCSPC module, as illustrated in Figure 7b, and the results revealed Hong-Ou-
17
18 12 Mandel interference with a weak coherent pulse[123]. In addition, adiabatic quantum-flux-
19 13 parametron (AQFP)[124] and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)-based
20 14 cryogenic circuits[125] were also promising alternatives to optimize the readout of an SNSPD
us
21
15 output pulse.
22
23 16
24 17 Table 1 Affecting factors and ultimate restrictions of temporal resolution
25
Affecting factors Restriction
26
27
28
29
Temporal
resolution
Internal
an External
Readout Upper Lower

Intrinsic Value(ps)a operation parameter Multiple array
30 circuit
31 Electron
0.57[75]
thermalization
32
dM
e-p scattering 16[72]
33 TCSPC[114]
34 Response
time
Electron diffusion 24.4[73] Nanowire
thickness
Kinetic
inductance Bias current RF-
Count rates
limited
Latching
limited
35 p-e relaxation 38[6] Temperature SNAP[103] SNSPD[118]
36
37 p-s escape - Linewidth ME- SNSPD[109] HEMT[120]
38 Position-
0.69[83] Material SC-NSNAP[112] SFQ[121]
dependent
39
Substrate AQFP[124]
40 Timing Geometry 5.25[87]
Bends Detection
-
Fano
41 jitter Distributed
15.4[83]
ratio regime SQUID[125] fluctuation
inhomogeneity
42
Fano fluctuation <1ps[96]
43
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44 18 a
The representative values for NbN or WSi SNSPDs.
45 19
46
47 20 5. New device structures of SNSPDs
48 21 The common micro-nano-processing procedure for SNSPDs is electron beam lithography
49 22 (EBL) following reactive ion etching, which sets a limit for large-scale arrays. Beyer’s group
50
23 first used optical lithography (OL) to fabricate a WSi SNSPD with 64 pixels[126]. Compared to
51
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52 24 EBL, the OL technique requires less time by over two orders of magnitude to fabricate the
53 25 same structure and has a much lower cost. Another fabrication method utilizes an atomic
54 26 force microscope[127], where the insulating niobium oxynitride lines are directly written with
55
56 27 a voltage-biased tip; the filling factor of the superconducting meander line can be increased
Ac
57 28 up to 80%. Recently, a new approach based on nonlinear femtosecond optical lithography was
58 29 used to fabricate ultrathin NbN SNSPDs and realize a spatial resolution close to 50 nm for the
59
60
30 formation of planar structures[128].
19
1
2
3 1 Superconducting nanowires can be designed with a spiral shape and produce a profound
4
5 2 effect on the timing jitter of the device. Compared with the conventional meander shape,
6 3 spiral patterned nanowires can prevent the current crowding effect on sharp turns of the
7 4 meander nanowire, and no polarization-sensitive and current crowding effect is observed in
8
5 spiral SNSPDs[129]. Charaev et al. investigated the influence of magnetic fields on the
pt
9
10 6 detection performance for different spiral-shaped nanowire structures[130]. The critical
11 7 current and the photon and dark count rates in square spirals were all asymmetric with respect
12
8 to the magnetic field direction; in contrast, circular spirals showed fully symmetric
13
cri
14 9 dependencies. Recently, these authors showed that the presence of bends in a
15 10 superconducting nanowire can decrease the detection probability of low-energy photons.
16 11 The nanowires were shaped as a meander, a double-spiral layout with an S-turn in the middle
17
18 12 and a single-spiral layout without such a turn, and the largest and smallest cut-off
19 13 wavelengths were found for the single-spiral layout and for the meander, respectively[131].
20 14 Recently, some novel pixel array structures have proven to be effective at enhancing the
us
21
15 overall system performances of SNSPDs. Verma et al. vertically stacked several WSi layers to
22
23 16 form a tridimensional SNAP[132], which enhanced the system detection efficiency and
24 17 reduced the polarization dependence compared to traditional planar SNSPDs. Later, these
25
18 authors separated two meander nanowires by a thin insulating barrier, which could be utilized
26
27
28
29
19
20
an
to improve the system performance through a thermal avalanche process[133]. Recently,
Florya et al. investigated the sandwich structure of a thin amorphous silicon layer intercalated
21 into three superconducting amorphous tungsten silicide layers[134], and both the avalanche
30
31 22 and arm-trigger regimes were illustrated. Heat propagation processes in the three-layer
32 23 detection pixel were simulated after the absorption of a single photon with energy of 1-1000
dM
33 24 eV[135]. By connecting up to 70 narrow superconducting strips in parallel, a maximum of
34
25 seven subsequent incident photons can be resolved using interarrival time analysis[136]. The
35
36 26 multiple parallel structure of nanowires significantly influences the timing performance of
37 27 SNSPDs, which we discussed in section 4.3.
38
28 The photon coupling methods also fundamentally determine the overall properties, including
39
40 29 the time parameters. Unlike the ordinary cavity-integrated or fibre-coupled approaches,
41 30 Akhlaghi et al. integrated a U-shaped NbTiN nanowire with a silicon-on-insulator waveguide
42 31 and embedded it into an asymmetric nanobeam cavity, achieving a near unity on-chip
43
pte
44 32 quantum efficiency and a 55-ps timing jitter performance for 1545-nm wavelength
45 33 photons[137]. You’s group demonstrated a 100-µm diameter active area SNSPD with a
46 34 distributed Bragg reflector acting as an optical cavity coupled with a 105-µm multi-mode
47
35 optical fibre[138], which increased the count rates by one order of magnitude, from 1 to 10
48
49 36 MHz. Generally, a higher detection efficiency and lower timing jitter cannot be accomplished
50 37 in one SNSPD structure. However, by embedding the nanowires in a racetrack resonator, the
51
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38 photons were trapped in the cavity, and the interaction time was increased with only a 1-µm
52
53 39 nanowire length[139]. This novel structure improves the temporal resolution without
54 40 sacrificing the possible detection efficiency. Alternatively, by illuminating a superconducting
55 41 nanowire with front-side-coupled one-dimensional silver or gold optical nanoantennae in
56
42 free space, the system detection efficiency can be enhanced 50 to 130% without losing the
Ac
57
58 43 timing performance[140, 141]. Recently，some progress based on alternative materials has
59 44 demonstrated excellent performances with both detection efficiency and timing jitter take
60
20
1
2
3 1 into account[142-145], due to the typically lower critical currents. To better balance the
4
5 2 absorption efficiency with the length of SNSPDs, Lu et al. introduced an asymmetric metal-
6 3 insulator-metal sub-wavelength concentric ring grating structure and achieved 99.6%
7 4 absorption of the energy using a filling factor as sparse as 0.2 in the nanowire
8
5 arrangement[146]. The plasmonic nature of a superconducting layer[147] and non-periodic
pt
9
10 6 dielectric multilayers[148] were also utilized to enhance the surface absorption of incident
11 7 optical photons. To reduce the polarization sensitivity of SNSPDs, high refractive index
12
8 compensation materials[149] and a SiNx dielectric layer[150] were capped on NbN-based
13
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14 9 SNSPDs, and a polarization sensitivity below 0.1 was realized at both 1.31- and 1.55-µm
15 10 wavelengths. Recently, Cheng et al. separated the optical path and electrical path on the
16 11 opposite sides of the chip by using a back-illuminated detector structure, which achieved a
17
18 12 high performance comparable to that obtained when using metal reflectors or distributed
19 13 Bragg reflectors while exhibiting more potential for compact multi-channel integration
20 14 applications[151]. There is no doubt that with various novel device structures appearing in
us
21
15 the near future, the overall system properties of SNSPDs will reach a new height.
22
23 16
24 17 6. Conclusion
25
18 Single photon detectors have substantially evolved in the past few decades, opening up new
26
27
28
29
19
20
an
avenues in quantum physics research and quantum optical technologies. The use of SNSPDs
is a powerful new approach that allows simultaneous high efficiency, negligible dark counts,
21 high speed and low jitter detection of a single photon from the microwave to X-ray
30
31 22 broadband and even of particles or biomolecules. In this review, we focused on the temporal
32 23 resolution of SNSPDs, whose mechanism is not thoroughly understood, therefore restricting
dM
33 24 further precision improvements for timing-related applications, such as QC and laser ranging.
34
25 In Table 1, we provide a comprehensive summary of the factors affecting and the intrinsic
35
36 26 physical mechanism of the temporal resolution in SNSPDs, both internal and external. We
37 27 must note that the parallel development of measurement techniques and device structures is
38
28 crucial to reveal the intrinsic temporal resolution limited by the photon detection mechanism
39
40 29 itself, which has been masked by instrumental aspects. Just before this review was submitted,
41 30 successive papers reported the latest research on the temporal resolution for straight
42 31 nanowires using a new dual-readout technique, and a sub-3-ps timing jitter was realized in
43
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44 32 SNSPDs[152]. We are firmly convinced that with improvement in the experimental methods
45 33 and device structures, the remaining restriction on the temporal resolution must be a relevant
46 34 internal mechanism that is challenging to approach but intriguing and deserving of intensive
47
35 studies. Ultimately, the investigation of the temporal resolution of SNSPDs not only
48
49 36 contributes to practical engineering applications but also sheds light on the intrinsic physical
50 37 mechanism of such detectors and other superconducting detectors.
51
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38
52
53 39 Acknowledgements
54 40 The authors gratefully acknowledge funding of the National Key R&D Program of China
55 41 (2017YFB0503300) from the Ministry of Science and Technology (Earth observation and
56
42 navigation department).
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The potential and challenges of time-resolved single photon detection

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44 29 latching[67]. Annunziata et al. investigated the intrinsic dynamics of latching in Nb SNSPDs

23 measurement based on Hg-based high-temperature superconducting (HTS) implied that the

37 its intrinsic characteristic makes it rather difficult to overcome.

38 superconducting nanowire avalanche single photon detectors (SNAPs), multi-element

Readout Upper Lower

44 32 Applied Physics Letters 80 4687-9

38 in nanostructured NbN superconducting single-photon detectors and bridges Ieee

44 32 Superconductor-insulator transitions on Superconducting nanowire Scientific Reports 6

38 Journal of Applied Physics 101

44 32 nanowire single-photon detectors Scientific Reports 5

38 [42] Zhao Q Y, Zhu D, Calandri N, Dane A E, McCaughan A N, Bellei F, Wang H Z, Santavicca

44 32 efficient superconducting strip-line detectors for high throughput macromolecules

38 N and Sobolewski R 2003 Response time characterization of NbN superconducting

44 32 excited by single optical photons Physical Review B 67

38 Transactions on Applied Superconductivity 15 622-5

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