Itinerant microwave photon detector

The realization of a high-efficiency microwave single photon detector is a long-standing problem in the field of microwave quantum optics. Here we propose a quantum non-demolition, high-efficiency photon detector that can readily be implemented in present state-of-the-art circuit quantum electrodynamics. This scheme works in a continuous fashion, gaining information about the arrival time of the photon as well as about its presence. The key insight that allows to circumvent the usual limitations imposed by measurement back-action is the use of long-lived dark states in a small ensemble of inhomogeneous artificial atoms to increase the interaction time between the photon and the measurement device. Using realistic system parameters, we show that large detection fidelities are possible.