Acousto-electric single-photon detector

We propose a novel concept for a semiconductor-based single-photon detector for quantum information processing, which is capable of discriminating the number of photons in a light pulse. The detector exploits the charge transport by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) in order to combine a large photon absorption area (thus providing high photon collection efficiency) with a microscopic charge detection area, where the photo generated charge is detected with resolution at the single electron level using single electron transistors (SETs). We present preliminary results on acoustic transport measured in a prototype for the detector as well as on the fabrication of radio-frequency single-electron transistors (RFSETs) for charge detection. The photon detector is a particular example of acousto-electric nanocircuits that are expected to be able to control both the spatial and the spin degrees of freedom of single electrons. If realized, these circuits will contribute substantially to a scalable quantum information technology.