title: Superconducting single-photon counting system for optical experiments requiring time-resolution in the picosecond range.
abstract: We have developed a cryogenic measurement system for single-photon counting, which can be used in optical experiments requiring high time resolution in the picosecond range. The system utilizes niobium nitride superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors which are integrated in a time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) setup. In this work, we describe details of the mechanical design, the electrical setup, and the cryogenic optical components. The performance of the complete system in TCSPC mode is tentatively benchmarked using 140 fs long laser pulses at a repetition frequency of 75 MHz. Due to the high temporal stability of these pulses, the measured time resolution of 35 ps (FWHM) is limited by the timing jitter of the measurement system. The result was cross-checked in a Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) setup, where scattered pulses from a β-barium borate crystal have been detected with the same time resolution.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT) Jena, Albert-Einstein-Str. 9, 07745 Jena, Germany. julia.toussaint@ipht-jena.de
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toussaint
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grüner
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Hans-Georg
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dietzek
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Popp
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hofherr
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Henrich
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Il'in
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegel