Yu-Shiba-Rusinov tips: imaging spins at the atomic scale with full magnetic sensitivity

TL;DR

This paper introduces Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) tips for atomic-scale magnetic imaging, offering full magnetic sensitivity and robustness against magnetic fields, overcoming limitations of traditional magnetic tips in spin-polarized STM.

Contribution

The authors develop and demonstrate YSR tips functionalized with magnetic adatoms, enabling sensitive, robust, and full magnetic imaging at the atomic scale.

Findings

YSR tips can sense different magnetization directions.

YSR tips are robust against strong magnetic fields.

They can visualize magnetic field-driven spin transitions.

Abstract

Measurements of magnetic properties at the atomic scale require probes capable of combining high spatial resolution with spin sensitivity. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) fulfills these conditions by using atomically sharp magnetic tips. The imaging of spin structures results from the tunneling magneto-conductance that depends on the imbalance in the local density of spin-up and spin-down electrons. Spin-sensitive tips are generally formed from bulk materials or by coating non-magnetic tips with a thin magnetic layer. However, ferromagnetic materials generate stray magnetic fields which can influence the magnetic structure of the probed system, while the magnetization of antiferromagnetic materials is difficult to set tip by externally applied magnetic fields. Here, we use functionalized Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) tips prepared by attaching magnetic adatoms at the apex of a superconducting cluster to image magnetic interactions at the atomic scale. We demonstrate that YSR tips are capable of sensing different magnetization directions, conferring them full magnetic sensitivity. We additionally show that the finite size of the tip superconducting cluster makes it robust against relatively strong magnetic fields, making YSR tips capable of visualizing magnetic field driven transitions of the spin texture.