Visualizing dissipative charge carrier dynamics at the nanoscale with superconducting charge qubit microscopy

TL;DR

This paper introduces superconducting charge qubit microscopy (SCQM), a novel quantum sensing technique capable of high-resolution imaging of charge carrier dynamics and electronic phase transitions at the nanoscale.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new quantum sensing modality using superconducting charge qubits for nanoscale imaging of dissipative charge dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution.

Findings

SCQM can resolve temperature changes as small as 0.1 mK.

SCQM can detect resistivity changes as small as 10^4 Ω·cm.

Potential applications include studying quantum phase transitions and topological insulators.

Abstract

The investigation of novel electronic phases in low-dimensional quantum materials demands for the concurrent development of new measurement techniques that combine surface sensitivity with high spatial resolution and high measurement accuracy. We propose a new quantum sensing imaging modality based on superconducting charge qubits to study dissipative charge carrier dynamics with nanometer spatial and high temporal resolution. Using analytical and numerical calculations we show that superconducting charge qubit microscopy (SCQM) has the potential to resolve temperature and resistivity changes in a sample as small as $\Delta T\leq0.1\;$mK and $\Delta\rho\leq1\cdot10^{4} \,\Omega\cdot$cm, respectively. Among other applications, SCQM will be especially suited to study the microscopic mechanisms underlying interaction driven quantum phase transitions, to investigate the boundary modes found in novel topological insulators and, in a broader context, to visualize the dissiaptive charge carrier dynamics occurring in mesoscopic and nanoscale devices.