Unified Theory of Dark Count Rate and System Detection Efficiency for NbN, WSi Based Superconducting Single Photon Detectors

Predicting the behavior of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) is important as their use becomes more widespread in fields ranging from quantum computing to quantum remote sensing. Here, we present a vortex crossing theory of photon detection which provides a unified definition of system detection efficiency and dark count rates. Our approach quantitatively captures the plateau region of system detection efficiency for NbN and WSi based SNSPDs. We concurrently predict the temperature dependence of dark count rates and the intrinsic timing jitter of SNSPDs. We extensively benchmark our model against various experiments to aid in the design of the next generation of SNSPDs.