Modelling superconducting nanowire single photon detectors in a waveguide cavity

In this work we report on a single photon detector system which offers near-unity detection efficiency using waveguide-coupled superconducting nanowires with lengths on the order of 1 mu m. This is achieved by embedding the nanowires in a racetrack resonator where the interaction time with the photons trapped in the cavity is increased, thereby allowing for shorter nanowires. We expect this to lead to a higher fabrication yield as the amount of inhomogeneities decreases for shorter nanowires. Our simulations show a system with a 1 mu m long superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) operating at near-unity detection efficiency using design parameters that can be realistically achieved with conventional fabrication processes. The resonant cavity introduces spectral selectivity to the otherwise broad-band SNSPDs and the cavity induced timing jitter is shown to be insignificant for SNSPDs longer than 1 mu m. Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.