NbRe as candidate material for fast single photon detection

The suitability of NbRe as a promising material for the design of Superconducting Single Photon Detectors is investigated in order to lower both the minimum detectable photon energy and the recovery time of the devices. Both the low values determined for the quasiparticle relaxation time, sE, and its weak temperature dependence are desirable in the design of fast single photon detectors. Both properties can be further improved by coupling NbRe with a ferromagnetic layer, as demonstrated by estimating the characteristic relaxation rates in NbRe/CuNi bilayers.