---
_id: '63451'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) can enable
photon-number resolution (PNR) based on accurate measurements of the detector’s
response time to few-photon optical pulses. In this work, we investigate the impact
of the optical pulse shape and duration on the accuracy of this method. We find
that Gaussian temporal pulse shapes yield cleaner arrival-time histograms and,
thus, more accurate PNR, compared to bandpass-filtered pulses of equal bandwidth.
For low system jitter and an optical pulse duration comparable to the other jitter
contributions, photon numbers can be discriminated in our system with a commercial
SNSPD. At 60 ps optical pulse duration, photon-number discrimination is significantly
reduced. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of using the correct arrival-time
histogram model when analyzing photon-number assignment. Using exponentially modified
Gaussian distributions, instead of the commonly used Gaussian distributions, we
can more accurately determine photon-number misidentification probabilities. Finally,
we reconstruct the positive operator-valued measures of the detector, revealing
sharp features that indicate the intrinsic PNR capabilities.
article_number: '016102'
author:
- first_name: Timon
full_name: Schapeler, Timon
id: '55629'
last_name: Schapeler
orcid: 0000-0001-7652-1716
- first_name: Isabell
full_name: Mischke, Isabell
last_name: Mischke
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Schlue, Fabian
id: '63579'
last_name: Schlue
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Stefszky, Michael
id: '42777'
last_name: Stefszky
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Brecht, Benjamin
id: '27150'
last_name: Brecht
orcid: '0000-0003-4140-0556 '
- first_name: Christine
full_name: Silberhorn, Christine
id: '26263'
last_name: Silberhorn
- first_name: Tim
full_name: Bartley, Tim
id: '49683'
last_name: Bartley
citation:
ama: Schapeler T, Mischke I, Schlue F, et al. Practical considerations for assignment
of photon numbers with SNSPDs. APL Quantum. 2026;3(1). doi:10.1063/5.0304127
apa: Schapeler, T., Mischke, I., Schlue, F., Stefszky, M., Brecht, B., Silberhorn,
C., & Bartley, T. (2026). Practical considerations for assignment of photon
numbers with SNSPDs. APL Quantum, 3(1), Article 016102. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0304127
bibtex: '@article{Schapeler_Mischke_Schlue_Stefszky_Brecht_Silberhorn_Bartley_2026,
title={Practical considerations for assignment of photon numbers with SNSPDs},
volume={3}, DOI={10.1063/5.0304127},
number={1016102}, journal={APL Quantum}, publisher={AIP Publishing}, author={Schapeler,
Timon and Mischke, Isabell and Schlue, Fabian and Stefszky, Michael and Brecht,
Benjamin and Silberhorn, Christine and Bartley, Tim}, year={2026} }'
chicago: Schapeler, Timon, Isabell Mischke, Fabian Schlue, Michael Stefszky, Benjamin
Brecht, Christine Silberhorn, and Tim Bartley. “Practical Considerations for Assignment
of Photon Numbers with SNSPDs.” APL Quantum 3, no. 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0304127.
ieee: 'T. Schapeler et al., “Practical considerations for assignment of photon
numbers with SNSPDs,” APL Quantum, vol. 3, no. 1, Art. no. 016102, 2026,
doi: 10.1063/5.0304127.'
mla: Schapeler, Timon, et al. “Practical Considerations for Assignment of Photon
Numbers with SNSPDs.” APL Quantum, vol. 3, no. 1, 016102, AIP Publishing,
2026, doi:10.1063/5.0304127.
short: T. Schapeler, I. Mischke, F. Schlue, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht, C. Silberhorn,
T. Bartley, APL Quantum 3 (2026).
date_created: 2026-01-05T10:00:58Z
date_updated: 2026-03-25T08:00:27Z
department:
- _id: '15'
- _id: '623'
- _id: '288'
doi: 10.1063/5.0304127
intvolume: ' 3'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
oa: '1'
project:
- _id: '191'
name: 'PhoQuant: Photonische Quantencomputer - Quantencomputing Testplattform'
- _id: '239'
name: 'ERC-Grant: QuESADILLA: Quantum Engineering Superconducting Array Detectors
in Low-Light Applications'
publication: APL Quantum
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2835-0103
publication_status: published
publisher: AIP Publishing
status: public
title: Practical considerations for assignment of photon numbers with SNSPDs
type: journal_article
user_id: '27150'
volume: 3
year: '2026'
...
---
_id: '60587'
author:
- first_name: Timon
full_name: Schapeler, Timon
id: '55629'
last_name: Schapeler
orcid: 0000-0001-7652-1716
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Schlue, Fabian
id: '63579'
last_name: Schlue
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Stefszky, Michael
id: '42777'
last_name: Stefszky
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Brecht, Benjamin
id: '27150'
last_name: Brecht
orcid: '0000-0003-4140-0556 '
- first_name: Christine
full_name: Silberhorn, Christine
id: '26263'
last_name: Silberhorn
- first_name: Tim
full_name: Bartley, Tim
id: '49683'
last_name: Bartley
citation:
ama: 'Schapeler T, Schlue F, Stefszky M, Brecht B, Silberhorn C, Bartley T. Optimizing
photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowire multi-photon detectors.
In: Itzler MA, McIntosh KA, Bienfang JC, eds. Advanced Photon Counting Techniques
XIX. SPIE; 2025. doi:10.1117/12.3054905'
apa: Schapeler, T., Schlue, F., Stefszky, M., Brecht, B., Silberhorn, C., &
Bartley, T. (2025). Optimizing photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowire
multi-photon detectors. In M. A. Itzler, K. A. McIntosh, & J. C. Bienfang
(Eds.), Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX. SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3054905
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Schapeler_Schlue_Stefszky_Brecht_Silberhorn_Bartley_2025,
title={Optimizing photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowire multi-photon
detectors}, DOI={10.1117/12.3054905},
booktitle={Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX}, publisher={SPIE}, author={Schapeler,
Timon and Schlue, Fabian and Stefszky, Michael and Brecht, Benjamin and Silberhorn,
Christine and Bartley, Tim}, editor={Itzler, Mark A. and McIntosh, K. Alex and
Bienfang, Joshua C.}, year={2025} }'
chicago: Schapeler, Timon, Fabian Schlue, Michael Stefszky, Benjamin Brecht, Christine
Silberhorn, and Tim Bartley. “Optimizing Photon-Number Resolution with Superconducting
Nanowire Multi-Photon Detectors.” In Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX,
edited by Mark A. Itzler, K. Alex McIntosh, and Joshua C. Bienfang. SPIE, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3054905.
ieee: 'T. Schapeler, F. Schlue, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht, C. Silberhorn, and T. Bartley,
“Optimizing photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowire multi-photon
detectors,” in Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX, 2025, doi: 10.1117/12.3054905.'
mla: Schapeler, Timon, et al. “Optimizing Photon-Number Resolution with Superconducting
Nanowire Multi-Photon Detectors.” Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX,
edited by Mark A. Itzler et al., SPIE, 2025, doi:10.1117/12.3054905.
short: 'T. Schapeler, F. Schlue, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht, C. Silberhorn, T. Bartley,
in: M.A. Itzler, K.A. McIntosh, J.C. Bienfang (Eds.), Advanced Photon Counting
Techniques XIX, SPIE, 2025.'
date_created: 2025-07-11T09:18:09Z
date_updated: 2025-07-11T09:22:11Z
department:
- _id: '15'
- _id: '623'
doi: 10.1117/12.3054905
editor:
- first_name: Mark A.
full_name: Itzler, Mark A.
last_name: Itzler
- first_name: K. Alex
full_name: McIntosh, K. Alex
last_name: McIntosh
- first_name: Joshua C.
full_name: Bienfang, Joshua C.
last_name: Bienfang
language:
- iso: eng
project:
- _id: '239'
call_identifier: ERC
grant_number: '101042399'
name: 'QuESADILLA: ERC-Grant: QuESADILLA: Quantum Engineering Superconducting Array
Detectors in Low-Light Applications'
- _id: '191'
grant_number: 13N16103
name: 'PhoQuant--QCTest: PhoQuant: Photonische Quantencomputer - Quantencomputing
Testplattform'
publication: Advanced Photon Counting Techniques XIX
publication_status: published
publisher: SPIE
status: public
title: Optimizing photon-number resolution with superconducting nanowire multi-photon
detectors
type: conference
user_id: '55629'
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '61110'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'By analyzing the physics of multi-photon absorption in superconducting
nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs), we identify physical components of
jitter. From this, we formulate a quantitative physical model of the multi-photon
detector response that combines the local detection mechanism and local fluctuations
(hotspot formation and intrinsic jitter) with the thermoelectric dynamics of resistive
domains. Our model provides an excellent description of the arrival-time histogram
of a commercial SNSPD across several orders of magnitude, both in arrival-time
probability and across mean photon number. This is achieved with just three fitting
parameters: the scaling of the mean arrival time of voltage response pulses, as
well as the Gaussian and exponential jitter components. Our findings have important
implications for photon-number-resolving detector design, as well as applications
requiring low jitter, such as light detection and ranging (LIDAR).'
article_number: '086113'
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Mariia
full_name: Sidorova, Mariia
last_name: Sidorova
- first_name: Timon
full_name: Schapeler, Timon
id: '55629'
last_name: Schapeler
orcid: 0000-0001-7652-1716
- first_name: Alexej D.
full_name: Semenov, Alexej D.
last_name: Semenov
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Schlue, Fabian
id: '63579'
last_name: Schlue
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Stefszky, Michael
id: '42777'
last_name: Stefszky
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Brecht, Benjamin
id: '27150'
last_name: Brecht
orcid: '0000-0003-4140-0556 '
- first_name: Christine
full_name: Silberhorn, Christine
id: '26263'
last_name: Silberhorn
- first_name: Tim
full_name: Bartley, Tim
id: '49683'
last_name: Bartley
citation:
ama: Sidorova M, Schapeler T, Semenov AD, et al. Jitter in photon-number-resolved
detection by superconducting nanowires. APL Photonics. 2025;10(8). doi:10.1063/5.0273752
apa: Sidorova, M., Schapeler, T., Semenov, A. D., Schlue, F., Stefszky, M., Brecht,
B., Silberhorn, C., & Bartley, T. (2025). Jitter in photon-number-resolved
detection by superconducting nanowires. APL Photonics, 10(8), Article
086113. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273752
bibtex: '@article{Sidorova_Schapeler_Semenov_Schlue_Stefszky_Brecht_Silberhorn_Bartley_2025,
title={Jitter in photon-number-resolved detection by superconducting nanowires},
volume={10}, DOI={10.1063/5.0273752},
number={8086113}, journal={APL Photonics}, publisher={AIP Publishing}, author={Sidorova,
Mariia and Schapeler, Timon and Semenov, Alexej D. and Schlue, Fabian and Stefszky,
Michael and Brecht, Benjamin and Silberhorn, Christine and Bartley, Tim}, year={2025}
}'
chicago: Sidorova, Mariia, Timon Schapeler, Alexej D. Semenov, Fabian Schlue, Michael
Stefszky, Benjamin Brecht, Christine Silberhorn, and Tim Bartley. “Jitter in Photon-Number-Resolved
Detection by Superconducting Nanowires.” APL Photonics 10, no. 8 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273752.
ieee: 'M. Sidorova et al., “Jitter in photon-number-resolved detection by
superconducting nanowires,” APL Photonics, vol. 10, no. 8, Art. no. 086113,
2025, doi: 10.1063/5.0273752.'
mla: Sidorova, Mariia, et al. “Jitter in Photon-Number-Resolved Detection by Superconducting
Nanowires.” APL Photonics, vol. 10, no. 8, 086113, AIP Publishing, 2025,
doi:10.1063/5.0273752.
short: M. Sidorova, T. Schapeler, A.D. Semenov, F. Schlue, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht,
C. Silberhorn, T. Bartley, APL Photonics 10 (2025).
date_created: 2025-09-01T11:12:19Z
date_updated: 2025-09-02T10:47:08Z
department:
- _id: '623'
- _id: '15'
doi: 10.1063/5.0273752
external_id:
arxiv:
- arXiv:2503.17146
intvolume: ' 10'
issue: '8'
keyword:
- Jitter
- PNR
- SNSPD
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
oa: '1'
project:
- _id: '191'
name: 'PhoQuant: Photonische Quantencomputer - Quantencomputing Testplattform'
- _id: '239'
name: 'ERC-Grant: QuESADILLA: Quantum Engineering Superconducting Array Detectors
in Low-Light Applications'
publication: APL Photonics
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2378-0967
publication_status: published
publisher: AIP Publishing
status: public
title: Jitter in photon-number-resolved detection by superconducting nanowires
type: journal_article
user_id: '55629'
volume: 10
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '55174'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "We apply principal component analysis (PCA) to a set of electrical
output signals from a commercially available superconducting nanowire single-photon
detector (SNSPD) to investigate their photon-number-resolving capability. We find
that the rising edge as well as the amplitude of the electrical signal have the
most dependence on photon number. Accurately measuring the rising edge while simultaneously
measuring the voltage of the pulse amplitude maximizes the photon-number resolution
of SNSPDs. Using an optimal basis of principal components, we show unambiguous
discrimination between one- and two-photon events, as well as partial resolution
up to five photons. This expands the use case of SNSPDs to photon-counting experiments,
without the need of detector multiplexing architectures.\r\n \r\n
\ \r\n \r\n \r\n
\ Published by the American Physical Society\r\n
\ 2024\r\n \r\n
\ \r\n "
article_number: '014024'
author:
- first_name: Timon
full_name: Schapeler, Timon
id: '55629'
last_name: Schapeler
orcid: 0000-0001-7652-1716
- first_name: Niklas
full_name: Lamberty, Niklas
last_name: Lamberty
- first_name: Thomas
full_name: Hummel, Thomas
id: '83846'
last_name: Hummel
orcid: 0000-0001-8627-2119
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Schlue, Fabian
id: '63579'
last_name: Schlue
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Stefszky, Michael
id: '42777'
last_name: Stefszky
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Brecht, Benjamin
id: '27150'
last_name: Brecht
orcid: '0000-0003-4140-0556 '
- first_name: Christine
full_name: Silberhorn, Christine
id: '26263'
last_name: Silberhorn
- first_name: Tim
full_name: Bartley, Tim
id: '49683'
last_name: Bartley
citation:
ama: Schapeler T, Lamberty N, Hummel T, et al. Electrical trace analysis of superconducting
nanowire photon-number-resolving detectors. Physical Review Applied. 2024;22(1).
doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024
apa: Schapeler, T., Lamberty, N., Hummel, T., Schlue, F., Stefszky, M., Brecht,
B., Silberhorn, C., & Bartley, T. (2024). Electrical trace analysis of superconducting
nanowire photon-number-resolving detectors. Physical Review Applied, 22(1),
Article 014024. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024
bibtex: '@article{Schapeler_Lamberty_Hummel_Schlue_Stefszky_Brecht_Silberhorn_Bartley_2024,
title={Electrical trace analysis of superconducting nanowire photon-number-resolving
detectors}, volume={22}, DOI={10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024},
number={1014024}, journal={Physical Review Applied}, publisher={American Physical
Society (APS)}, author={Schapeler, Timon and Lamberty, Niklas and Hummel, Thomas
and Schlue, Fabian and Stefszky, Michael and Brecht, Benjamin and Silberhorn,
Christine and Bartley, Tim}, year={2024} }'
chicago: Schapeler, Timon, Niklas Lamberty, Thomas Hummel, Fabian Schlue, Michael
Stefszky, Benjamin Brecht, Christine Silberhorn, and Tim Bartley. “Electrical
Trace Analysis of Superconducting Nanowire Photon-Number-Resolving Detectors.”
Physical Review Applied 22, no. 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024.
ieee: 'T. Schapeler et al., “Electrical trace analysis of superconducting
nanowire photon-number-resolving detectors,” Physical Review Applied, vol.
22, no. 1, Art. no. 014024, 2024, doi: 10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024.'
mla: Schapeler, Timon, et al. “Electrical Trace Analysis of Superconducting Nanowire
Photon-Number-Resolving Detectors.” Physical Review Applied, vol. 22, no.
1, 014024, American Physical Society (APS), 2024, doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024.
short: T. Schapeler, N. Lamberty, T. Hummel, F. Schlue, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht,
C. Silberhorn, T. Bartley, Physical Review Applied 22 (2024).
date_created: 2024-07-11T07:23:08Z
date_updated: 2024-07-11T09:36:00Z
department:
- _id: '15'
- _id: '623'
doi: 10.1103/physrevapplied.22.014024
intvolume: ' 22'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
oa: '1'
project:
- _id: '239'
call_identifier: ERC
grant_number: '101042399'
name: 'QuESADILLA: ERC-Grant: QuESADILLA: Quantum Engineering Superconducting Array
Detectors in Low-Light Applications'
- _id: '191'
grant_number: 13N16103
name: 'PhoQuant--QCTest: PhoQuant: Photonische Quantencomputer - Quantencomputing
Testplattform'
publication: Physical Review Applied
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2331-7019
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
status: public
title: Electrical trace analysis of superconducting nanowire photon-number-resolving
detectors
type: journal_article
user_id: '55629'
volume: 22
year: '2024'
...
---
_id: '57743'
article_number: '023717'
author:
- first_name: Suchitra
full_name: Krishnaswamy, Suchitra
id: '78347'
last_name: Krishnaswamy
- first_name: Fabian
full_name: Schlue, Fabian
id: '63579'
last_name: Schlue
- first_name: L.
full_name: Ares, L.
last_name: Ares
- first_name: V.
full_name: Dyachuk, V.
last_name: Dyachuk
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Stefszky, Michael
id: '42777'
last_name: Stefszky
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Brecht, Benjamin
id: '27150'
last_name: Brecht
orcid: '0000-0003-4140-0556 '
- first_name: Christine
full_name: Silberhorn, Christine
id: '26263'
last_name: Silberhorn
- first_name: Jan
full_name: Sperling, Jan
id: '75127'
last_name: Sperling
orcid: 0000-0002-5844-3205
citation:
ama: Krishnaswamy S, Schlue F, Ares L, et al. Experimental retrieval of photon statistics
from click detection. Physical Review A. 2024;110(2). doi:10.1103/physreva.110.023717
apa: Krishnaswamy, S., Schlue, F., Ares, L., Dyachuk, V., Stefszky, M., Brecht,
B., Silberhorn, C., & Sperling, J. (2024). Experimental retrieval of photon
statistics from click detection. Physical Review A, 110(2), Article
023717. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.110.023717
bibtex: '@article{Krishnaswamy_Schlue_Ares_Dyachuk_Stefszky_Brecht_Silberhorn_Sperling_2024,
title={Experimental retrieval of photon statistics from click detection}, volume={110},
DOI={10.1103/physreva.110.023717},
number={2023717}, journal={Physical Review A}, publisher={American Physical Society
(APS)}, author={Krishnaswamy, Suchitra and Schlue, Fabian and Ares, L. and Dyachuk,
V. and Stefszky, Michael and Brecht, Benjamin and Silberhorn, Christine and Sperling,
Jan}, year={2024} }'
chicago: Krishnaswamy, Suchitra, Fabian Schlue, L. Ares, V. Dyachuk, Michael Stefszky,
Benjamin Brecht, Christine Silberhorn, and Jan Sperling. “Experimental Retrieval
of Photon Statistics from Click Detection.” Physical Review A 110, no.
2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.110.023717.
ieee: 'S. Krishnaswamy et al., “Experimental retrieval of photon statistics
from click detection,” Physical Review A, vol. 110, no. 2, Art. no. 023717,
2024, doi: 10.1103/physreva.110.023717.'
mla: Krishnaswamy, Suchitra, et al. “Experimental Retrieval of Photon Statistics
from Click Detection.” Physical Review A, vol. 110, no. 2, 023717, American
Physical Society (APS), 2024, doi:10.1103/physreva.110.023717.
short: S. Krishnaswamy, F. Schlue, L. Ares, V. Dyachuk, M. Stefszky, B. Brecht,
C. Silberhorn, J. Sperling, Physical Review A 110 (2024).
date_created: 2024-12-11T15:33:08Z
date_updated: 2024-12-11T15:35:07Z
department:
- _id: '623'
- _id: '15'
- _id: '170'
- _id: '706'
- _id: '429'
- _id: '623'
doi: 10.1103/physreva.110.023717
intvolume: ' 110'
issue: '2'
language:
- iso: eng
publication: Physical Review A
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2469-9926
- 2469-9934
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
status: public
title: Experimental retrieval of photon statistics from click detection
type: journal_article
user_id: '75127'
volume: 110
year: '2024'
...