Ultra-sensitive mid-infrared emission spectrometer with sub-ns temporal resolution

Opt Express. 2018 Jun 11;26(12):14859-14868. doi: 10.1364/OE.26.014859.

Abstract

We evaluate the performance of a mid-infrared emission spectrometer operating at wavelengths between 1.5 and 6 μm based on an amorphous tungsten silicide (a-WSi) superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD). We performed laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of surface adsorbates with sub-monolayer sensitivity and sub-nanosecond temporal resolution. We discuss possible future improvements of the SNSPD-based infrared emission spectrometer and its potential applications in molecular science.