Few-mode fiber coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for photon efficient optical communications

Brian E. Vyhnalek; Sarah A. Tedder; Evan J. Katz; Jennifer M. Nappier

doi:10.1117/12.2510958

22 February 2019 Few-mode fiber coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for photon efficient optical communications

Brian E. Vyhnalek, Sarah A. Tedder, Evan J. Katz, Jennifer M. Nappier

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10910, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXI; 109100D (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510958
Event: SPIE LASE, 2019, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The NASA Glenn Research Center's development of a high-photon efficiency real-time optical communications ground receiver has added superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) coupled with few-mode fibers (FMF). High data rate space-to-ground optical communication links require enhanced ground receiver sensitivity to reduce spacecraft transmitter constraints, and therefore require highly efficient coupling from fiber to detector. In the presence of atmospheric turbulence the received optical wavefront can be severely distorted introducing higher-order spatial mode components to the received signal. To reduce mode filtering and mismatch loss and the resulting degradations to detector coupling efficiency, we explore the use of few-mode fiber coupling to commercial single-pixel SNSPDs. Graded index 20-μm few-mode fibers allow the commercial single pixel SNSPD's active area to couple with equal efficiency as single mode fibers. Here we determine detector characteristics such as count rate, detection efficiency, dark counts, and jitter, as well as detection efficiencies for higher-order fiber spatial modes. Additionally, we assess the laboratory performance of the detectors in an optical system which emulates future deep space optical communications links.

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Brian E. Vyhnalek, Sarah A. Tedder, Evan J. Katz, and Jennifer M. Nappier "Few-mode fiber coupled superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors for photon efficient optical communications", Proc. SPIE 10910, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXI, 109100D (22 February 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510958

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