Spatial resolution and point spread function of high-resolution scanning SQUID microscopy probes

Abstract

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) show exceptional sensitivity to magnetic flux. In scanning SQUID microscopy (SSM), SQUID size and its distance to the sample are minimized in order to map weak magnetic fields with best possible spatial resolution. SQUID-on-lever (SOL) architectures have proven especially effective as SSM probes due to their small sensor size, robustness, and ease of integration with conventional atomic force microscopy hardware. In order to optimize magnetic microscopy carried out with SOL probes and to accurately reconstruct the magnetic fields that they measure, it is essential to know their point spread function (PSF). The size and shape of this PSF are determined by magnetic flux focusing effects, which depend on the characteristic length-scales of the superconductor and the sensor geometry. By simulating the coupling to sources of magnetic flux, this work provides a mathematical description of the SOL PSF, which contains a full description of the probe's magnetic sensitivity and spatial resolution. We then use measurements of a single magnetic skyrmion to measure the magnetic flux response of a real SOL. We demonstrate excellent agreement with flux responses that are obtained from simulations, thereby confirming the calculated PSF and spatial resolution.