NIST reports wider photon detector design with sharply fewer dark counts

NIST researchers reported a superconducting single-photon detector architecture that uses superconducting rails to redistribute current in a central wire. In an Optica paper, the group said it expanded the wire to one-tenth of a millimeter, more than 100 times wider than typical devices, while reaching dark-count levels a billion times lower. The architecture is intended to simplify fabrication and support larger detectors for faint-light applications. NIST said further testing is needed to determine whether wide devices can match the 98% efficiency of nanoscale detectors.