No abstract

We developed a scanning DC SQUID microscope with novel readout electronics capable of wideband sensing RF magnetic fields from 50 to 200 MHz and simultaneously providing closed-loop response at kHz frequencies. To overcome the 20 MHz bandwidth limitation of traditional closed-loop SQUIDs, a flux-modulated closed loop simultaneously locks the SQUID quasi-static flux and flux-biases the SQUID for amplification of the RF flux up to  0 /4 in amplitude. Demodulating the SQUID voltage with a double lock-in technique yields a signal representative of both the amplitude and phase of the RF flux. This provides 80 dB of a linear dynamic range with the flux noise density of 4  0 /Hz at 200 MHz for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 bi-crystal SQUID at 77 K. We describe the electronics performance and present images for RF magnetic field of the travelling wave in a coplanar waveguide, the standing wave in an open-circuited microstrip, and a surface mounted device antenna.

Two types of magnetic microscopes have been investigated for use in high resolution current mapping. The scanning fiber/SQUID microscope uses a SQUID sensor coupled to a nanoscale ferromagnetic probe, and the GMR microscope employs a nanoscale giant magnetoresistive sensor. Initial scans demonstrate that these microscopes can resolve current lines less than 10 µm apart with edge resolution of 1 µm. These types of microscopes are compared with the performance of a standard scanning SQUID microscope and with each other with respect to spatial resolution and magnetic sensitivity. Both microscopes show great promise for identifying current defects in die level devices.