{
  "abstract": "Measurements of photon-number-dependent time-of-arrival (TOA) distributions in wide NbN superconducting microstrip single-photon detectors (SMSPDs) are presented. Two \\SI{10}{\\um}-long devices with widths of \\SI{3.2}{\\um} and \\SI{6.4}{\\um} are characterized under pulsed \\SI{515}{nm} excitation. The TOA histograms are described by sums of exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG) components, with the wider device exhibiting components assigned to photon numbers up to \\(n=8\\). Adjacent TOA peaks become more distinguishable relative to their widths at higher photon number, in contrast to the compression of neighboring photon-number timing shifts observed in conventional narrow-wire SNSPDs. For the components assigned to \\(n=7\\) and \\(n=8\\), the FWHM-normalized peak separation is \\(2.15\\), and the fitted EMG distributions yield an equal-prior pairwise TOA-assignment fidelity of \\(99.6\\%\\). The EMG exponential-tail parameter \\(τ_n\\) decreases strongly with photon number, while the Gaussian-location parameter \\(μ_n\\) continues to shift between neighboring components. A phenomenological model motivated by absorption-site-dependent vortex processes and collective current redistribution captures these timing trends. These results support wide SMSPDs as a platform for TOA-based photon-number discrimination at high photon number, relevant to multiphoton-state characterization and photonic quantum information processing. The same geometry also provides a setting to examine how the spatial distribution of photon absorption affects vortex-assisted detection.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.32154",
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Hsin-Yeh Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shu-Xiao Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Boris Tuchming"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xavier-François Navick"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pu-Kai Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yi-Ren Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jia-Wern Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marc Besançon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jean-François Glicenstein"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pisin Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yu-Jung Lu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stathes Paganis"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d5kyxgh0tgmgk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.32154",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "d5kyxgh0tgmgk",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.32154",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.app-ph"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Superconducting and THz Device Technology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223710579",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.32154",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d5kyxgh0tgmgk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:35:15Z",
      "native_id": "2610.32154",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.32154"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.app-ph",
      "subfield": "applied-instrumentation"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ex",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Photon-Number Discrimination from Increasing Time-of-Arrival Separation in Wide Superconducting Microstrip Single-Photon Detectors",
  "title_text": "Photon-Number Discrimination from Increasing Time-of-Arrival Separation in Wide Superconducting Microstrip Single-Photon Detectors",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:15Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d5kyxgh0tgmgk",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}