Scanning Microwave Microscopy with Superconducting Resonators
Abstract: The ability to probe the charge and spin dynamics of materials is crucial to our understanding of electromagnetic properties in materials. For example, techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy and transport measurements have been important in revealing both the success and failure of our current models of superconductivity. These instruments, however, provide information about material properties at low frequencies and require sample preparation that can result in permanent alteration of the sample. Operating at microwave frequencies and in cryogenic environments, superconducting resonators can be used for non-invasive measurements at high frequencies, making them suitable probes for investigating the behavior of superconducting devices or supplementing low-frequency measurements of quantum materials. My project aims to build a scanning microscope that utilizes a superconducting resonator to locally probe materials’ electromagnetic properties at microwave frequencies. I will discuss my current progress towards this goal and what superconducting resonators can bring to the modern laboratory’s suite of characterization tools.
