Vetlugin Anton N, Martinelli Filippo, Dong Shuyu, Soci Cesare
Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, TPI, Nanyang Technological University, 637371 Singapore.
Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 637371 Singapore.
Nanophotonics. 2023 Jan 9;12(3):505-519. doi: 10.1515/nanoph-2022-0614. eCollection 2023 Feb.
Common methods to achieve photon number resolution rely on fast on-off single-photon detectors in conjunction with temporal or spatial mode multiplexing. Yet, these methods suffer from an inherent trade-off between the efficiency of photon number discrimination and photon detection rate. Here, we introduce a method of photon number resolving detection that overcomes these limitations by replacing mode multiplexing with coherent absorption of a single optical mode in a distributed detector array. Distributed coherent absorption ensures complete and uniform absorption of light among the constituent detectors, enabling fast and efficient photon number resolution. As a proof-of-concept, we consider the case of a distributed array of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with realistic parameters and show that deterministic absorption and arbitrarily high photon number discrimination efficiency can be achieved by increasing the number of detectors in the array. Photon number resolution without optical mode multiplication provides a simple yet effective method to discriminate an arbitrary number of photons in large arrays of on-off detectors or in smaller arrays of mode multiplexed detectors.
实现光子数分辨的常用方法依赖于快速通断单光子探测器与时间或空间模式复用相结合。然而，这些方法在光子数鉴别效率和光子探测率之间存在固有的权衡。在此，我们介绍一种光子数分辨检测方法，该方法通过在分布式探测器阵列中用单个光学模式的相干吸收取代模式复用，克服了这些限制。分布式相干吸收确保了组成探测器之间光的完全均匀吸收，从而实现快速高效的光子数分辨。作为概念验证，我们考虑具有实际参数的超导纳米线单光子探测器分布式阵列的情况，并表明通过增加阵列中探测器的数量，可以实现确定性吸收和任意高的光子数鉴别效率。无需光学模式倍增的光子数分辨为在大型通断探测器阵列或较小的模式复用探测器阵列中鉴别任意数量的光子提供了一种简单而有效的方法。
