Chen Qi, Zhou Fei, Wei Chen, Dai Yue, Gan Haiyong, Zhang Labao, Wang Hao, Yuan Hang, Li Haochen, Tan Jingrou, Feng Guojin, Tu Xuecou, Jia Xiaoqing, Zhao Qingyuan, Kang Lin, Chen Jian, Wu Peiheng
Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Institute of Optics and Laser Metrology Science, National Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100029, China.
Natl Sci Rev. 2024 Sep 14;12(1):nwae319. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwae319. eCollection 2025 Jan.
The noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) indicates the minimum temperature difference resolvable by using an infrared detector. The lower the NETD, the better the sensor can register small temperature differences. In this work, we proposed a strategy to achieve a high temperature resolution using a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) with ultra-high sensitivity. We deduced the model for calculating the NETD of a photon-counting-type detector and applied it to our SNSPD-based set-up. Experimentally, we obtained an NETD as low as 0.65 mK, which is limited by the background radiation of the environment, and the required infrared radiation power is calculated to be <1 pW. Furthermore, the intrinsic NETD of this SNSPD is estimated to be <0.1 mK. This work demonstrated a sub-mK temperature resolution when using the SNSPD, paving the way for future remote infrared thermal imaging with high temperature resolution.
噪声等效温差（NETD）表示使用红外探测器可分辨的最小温差。NETD越低，传感器检测小温差的能力越好。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种策略，通过使用具有超高灵敏度的超导纳米线单光子探测器（SNSPD）来实现高温分辨率。我们推导了用于计算光子计数型探测器NETD的模型，并将其应用于基于SNSPD的装置。通过实验，我们获得了低至0.65 mK的NETD，这受到环境背景辐射的限制，计算得出所需的红外辐射功率<1 pW。此外，该SNSPD的固有NETD估计<0.1 mK。这项工作展示了使用SNSPD时亚毫开尔文的温度分辨率，为未来具有高温分辨率的远程红外热成像铺平了道路。
