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Explore the cutting-edge development of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and their critical role in advancing quantum network capabilities in this 41-minute colloquium talk. Discover how recent SNSPD systems have achieved remarkable performance metrics including sub-10 picosecond system timing jitter, 1.5 GHz detection rates, arrays containing up to 400,000 pixels, sub-hertz dark count rates, high efficiency, and both intrinsic and array-based photon number resolution. Learn why single-photon detector timing resolution and count rate have become the primary bottleneck limiting maximum throughput in quantum networks, even as photonic sources no longer constrain system performance. Examine the progress toward next-generation SNSPDs that integrate multiple state-of-the-art metrics into unified systems, and see how these advanced detectors enable record-setting communication protocols including NASA's deep space optical communication demonstration, a wavelength-multiplexed 12.5 GHz entanglement distribution system, and a 20 GHz single-photon laser communication system. Gain insights into ongoing research efforts to develop SNSPD arrays specifically designed for next-generation wavelength-division multiplexed quantum networks, understanding how these technological advances will support the high data throughput requirements necessary for quantum networks to achieve broad utility and maturity.
