Nanoscale quantum sensing and imaging of unconventional superconductivity
Abstract
The past decade witnessed the emergence and a rapid development of unconventional superconductivity. A variety of exotic quantum behaviors, such as correlated insulator-to-superconductor transitions, topologically protected Majorana fermions and coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism, have been observed in a range of superconducting quantum materials, which promise to bring new functionalities to next-generation electronic devices. Despite these remarkable progresses, to date, effective sensing of the local properties of unconventional superconductors with nanoscale spatial resolution remains to be challenging, which hinders a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism of the emergent superconducting behaviors. Known as a single-spin quantum bit, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, an optically-active atomic defect in diamond, is naturally relevant in this context due to its single-spin sensitivity, nanoscale spatial resolution, and notable versatility in a wide temperature range. Many of these advantages derive from its quantum-mechanical nature, which enables opportunities for outperforming its classical counterparts. Building on these strengths, we propose to introduce an NV center-based quantum sensing platform to explore the local electric- and magnetic field patterns arising from layered, unconventional superconductors in two-dimensional regime, which are challenging to access by the conventional spectroscopic techniques.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502110125
Entities
People
- Chunhui Du
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California, San Diego