Development of superconducting single-photon detectors for integrated quantum photonics applications

The implementation of single-photon detectors in waveguide photonic circuits will open the possibility of experiments in quantum regime that would otherwise be impossible to be implemented using bulk optics. Nanowire superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) are good candidates for integration due to their relative ease of fabrication on top of GaAs heterostructures. In this paper we show the experimental demonstration of single-photon detectors, based on superconducting nanowires, fully integrated with GaAs/AlGaAs ridge waveguides. We will discuss all the major challenges surmounted and all the steps necessary to achieve these results.