Single-Photon Detection in Few-Layer NbSe$_2$ Superconducting Nanowires

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2508.18843v1
• Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:19:30 GMT
• Title: Single-Photon Detection in Few-Layer NbSe$_2$ Superconducting Nanowires
• Authors: Lucio Zugliani, Alessandro Palermo, Bianca Scaparra, Aniket Patra, Fabian Wietschorke, Pietro Metuh, Athanasios Paralikis, Domenico De Fazio, Christoph Kastl, Rasmus Flaschmann, Battulga Munkhbat, Kai Müller, Jonathan J. Finley, Matteo Barbone,
• Abstract summary: Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) are key building blocks for photonic quantum technologies.<n>Superconducting materials exhibiting high uniformity, large absorption cross-section and atomic-scale thickness are desirable to extend single-photon detection.
• Score: 28.05833682707667
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
• Abstract: Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPDs) are key building blocks for photonic quantum technologies due to their ability to detect single photons with ultra-high efficiency, low dark counts and fast temporal resolution. Superconducting materials exhibiting high uniformity, large absorption cross-section and atomic-scale thickness are desirable to extend single-photon detection from the near-infrared up to the terahertz regime, where existing material choices are especially constrained. Substrate independence would further open the way to integrate detectors onto functional materials and heterostructures, enhancing performance and enabling proximal read-out of a wide range of individual excitations. Here, we top-down shape the prototypical two-dimensional superconductor niobium diselenide (NbSe$_2$) into few-layer nanowires less than 100 nm wide and demonstrate single-photon detection at 780 and 1550 nm. At the same time, the dark-count rate remains below 1 Hz up to the switching current and we achieve a timing jitter below 50 ps. We use a diffusive hot-spot model to estimate a theoretical cut-off wavelength that surpasses the millimetre range. Our results open up routes toward quantum limited detectors integrated into quantum-photonic circuits and quantum devices, with the potential for novel detection capabilities and unprecedented energy sensitivity.

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