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Quantum optics

Superconducting detectors count more photons

Using two different designs of superconductor-based detectors, two independent research groups report photon number detection for light pulses with up to 100 photons.

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Fig. 1: Comparison of multiplexed (top) and intrinsic photon-number resolution (bottom) schemes for performing few-photon detection.

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Correspondence to Tim J. Bartley.

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Bartley, T.J. Superconducting detectors count more photons. Nat. Photon. 17, 8–9 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-022-01128-2

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