Physics Colloquium : "Superconducting Nanowires: From Detecting Light to Seeking Dark Matter"

Date: 
Mon, 18/11/201912:00-13:30
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Location: 
Levin building, Lecture Hall No. 8
Lecturer: 
Karl Berggren (MIT)

 

Lecturer: Karl Berggren (MIT)

image can not be displayedAbstract: Superconductors are broadly familiar as detectors of magnetic field. But their use as single-photon detectors, and now as components of electronics circuits, has begun to emerge. These potential applications have led us to study the fascinating physical properties of these materials: an enormous intrinsic nonlinear response, and extraordinarily low carrier density. As a consequence, thin films of superconductors like niobium nitride exhibit enormous kinetic inductance at low frequencies, a property unique to highly plasmonic materials. Their effective "magnetic" (not actually due to magnetic field) permeability is thus 100s of times the permeability of free space. The direct consequence is a speed of signal propagation of a few percent of the speed of light, and characteristic impedances in the kΩ range. These extreme properties makes these systems ideal for a range of applications in single-photon detection, digital and analog electronics, and even dark-matter detection. As an engineering platform, this system thus presents fascinating opportunities for future work, while as a physical system, it continue to offer exciting new phenomena for study.