STTR Phase I: Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Cameras for Time-Resolved Quantum Imaging

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将对各种领域的时间相关成像应用产生变革性影响，包括量子信息科学、生物医学成像和遥感，通过提供比同等尺寸的光子计数相机在黑暗计数率和时间分辨率方面的数量级改进。同时，在以前无法实现的波长范围内，如200- 400nm的紫外线和1.8- 10um的中红外波段，开启了高效时间相关成像的前景。随着这些性能优势被引入到时间相关成像领域，新的实验类别将成为可能，从而进一步渗透到量子信息市场，并将超导纳米线单光子探测器引入到以前无法进入的市场，包括生物医学成像和遥感。这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第一阶段项目将展示一种新的多路复用技术的可行性，该技术可以实现大画幅千像素超导纳米线单光子探测器焦平面阵列，并评估其商业生产的可行性。这将需要开发新的设备制造工艺、探测器设计、测试程序和设备模型，同时利用以前成功的技术开发工作。将解决的主要技术挑战包括演示高产量器件制造，调查和减轻像素之间串扰的作用，以及验证读出方案的可扩展性和实用性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be to have a transformative impact on time-correlated imaging applications in a variety of fields, including quantum information science, biomedical imaging, and remote sensing, by offering order-of-magnitude improvements in dark count rates and time resolution over comparably sized photon counting cameras, while opening the prospect for efficient time-correlated imaging in previously inaccessible wavelength regimes, such as the UV from 200-400 nm, and the mid-infrared from 1.8-10 um. With the introduction of these performance advantages to the field of time-correlated imaging, new classes of experiments will become possible, enabling further penetration into the quantum information market and the introduction of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors to previously inaccessible markets including biomedical imaging and remote sensing. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate the viability of a new multiplexing technique enabling large-format kilopixel superconducting nanowire single photon detector focal plane arrays and evaluate its viability for commercial production. This will require the development of new device fabrication processes, detector designs, test procedures, and device models while leveraging previous successful technology development efforts. The primary technical challenges that will be addressed include demonstrating high-yield device fabrication, investigating and mitigating the role of crosstalk between pixels, and validating the scalability and practicality of the readout scheme.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.