Mapping Dynamical Magnetic Responses of Ultra-thin Micron-size Superconducting Films using Nitrogen-vacancy Centers in Diamond

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel imaging technique using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to map the microwave magnetic field distribution on ultrathin superconducting films, revealing their ac magnetic responses and transition temperatures.

Contribution

The study demonstrates a new NV-center based method for spatially resolving the magnetic responses of micron-sized ultrathin superconducting films, overcoming previous sample size limitations.

Findings

Detected ac Meissner effect at 78K and 91K in films

Observed thermally excited vortex-antivortex motion

Achieved spatial resolution limited by optical diffraction

Abstract

Two-dimensional superconductors have attracted growing interest because of their scientific novelty, structural tunability, and useful properties. Studies of their magnetic responses, however, are often hampered by difficulties to grow large-size samples of high quality and uniformity. We report here an imaging method that employed NV- centers in diamond as sensor capable of mapping out the microwave magnetic field distribution on an ultrathin superconducting film of micron size. Measurements on a 33nm-thick film and a 125nm-thick bulk-like film of $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}$ revealed that the ac Meissner effect (or repulsion of ac magnetic field) set in at 78K and 91K, respectively; the latter was the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of both films. The unusual ac magnetic response of the thin film presumably was due to thermally excited vortex-antivortex diffusive motion in the film. Spatial resolution of our ac magnetometer was limited by optical diffraction and the noise level was at 14 ${\mu}T/Hz^{1/2}$. The technique could be extended with better detection sensitivity to extract local ac conductivity/susceptibility of ultrathin or monolayer superconducting samples as well as ac magnetic responses of other two-dimensional exotic thin films of limited lateral size.