Phys.org December 5, 2022
To understand the inner workings of quantum computing and enable supercomputing a team of researchers in the US (Iowa State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Florida State University, Ames National Laboratory) built a Cryogenic Magneto-Terahertz Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope (cm-SNOM). It comprises three main equipment: i) a 5 T split pair magnetic cryostat with a custom made insert for mounting SNOM inside; ii) an atomic force microscope (AFM) unit that accepts ultrafast THz excitation and iii) a MHz repetition rate, femtosecond laser amplifier for high-field THz pulse generation and sensitive detection.
Using cm-SNOM they obtained proof of principle measurements of supercurrent flow in iron-based superconductors at terahertz energy scales and the first cm-SNOM action to detect terahertz supercurrent tunneling in a high-temperature, copper-based, cuprate superconductor. The new capabilities demonstrated broke grounds for studying quantum materials that require extreme environment of cryogenic operation and applied magnetic fields simultaneously in nanometer space, femtosecond time, and terahertz energy scales…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE  1 , 2 Â
Lightwave parametrically driven superconductivity in FeSCs. Credit: Nat. Phys. (2022)Â