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

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 quantum sensing imaging modality based on superconducting charge qubits to study dissipative charge-carrier dynamics with nanometer spatial and better than nanosecond 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 T 0.1 mK and ρ 1 × 10 4 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, more broadly, to visualize dissipative charge-carrier dynamics occurring in mesoscopic and nanoscale devices.

Chemical and structural identification of material defects in superconducting quantum circuits

“…There have been a few theoretical proposals that discuss the possibility of using quantum circuits in an SPM configuration to interrogate nanoscale material properties. This includes charge qubit on a tip [136,137] and quantum harmonic oscillators [138]. Experimental implementations are scarce at present.…”