Current Bias Modulated Low Noise Equivalent Power of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ Nanowire Infrared Detector in 8–12 μm

Superconductor infrared detectors, composed of parallel nanowires, with low noise and wide dynamic range, are broadly applied in infrared detection including cosmic physics. YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) is the best known and attractive material for a bolometric-type detector due to its high critical temperature and excellent sharp resistance–temperature transition. Inspired by excellent infrared detection of superconductor bolometers, we investigate the infrared blackbody radiation response performance of YBCO nanowire infrared detectors under different temperatures and biased currents. We discovered a high operating bias coefficient a of 0.65 in our YBCO nanowire infrared detectors, and a high thermal stability of YBCO nanowire infrared detectors is represented in the infrared wavelength (8–12 μm) according to the theoretical model of the bolometer. Our YBCO nanowire infrared detectors with optimal performance achieve a notably low noise equivalent power of 1.68 × 10–13 W/Hz0.5 under 8–12 μm infrared radiation at 80.5 K. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of current bias to modulate the outstanding infrared detection performance of high-temperature superconductor nanowire infrared detectors.