Impact of Stoichiometry of MoSi Thin Films for Enhanced Sensitivity of Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors

We report on the impact of the stoichiometry of superconducting MoSi thin films on the performance of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs). Specifically, we investigate the relation between the film parameters critical temperature Tc , sheet resistance Rs and superconductor thickness d and observe a universal scaling behavior. To benchmark the performance of SNSPDs fabricated from films having different stoichiometry, we measure the bias dependent count rate curves, while the detector is illuminated with wavelengths between 780 nm and 1550 nm. The detector performance as a function photon energy for different nanowire widths reveals a linear relation between the detection current and the photon energy. Furthermore, we determine the interfacial thermal boundary conductance β between the superconducting thin film and the substrate, by measuring the return current of the SNSPD and find an increase of β with increasing Mo concentration. The highest sensitivity amongst all compared devices is achieved for Mo_0.53Si_0.47, with low Tc (4.1 K) and high Rs (397Ω/sq) at a film thickness of 5.4 nm.