Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy
Superconducting (SC) tips for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can enhance a wide range of surface science studies because they offer exquisite energy resolution, allow the study of Josephson tunneling, or provide spatial contrast based on the local interaction of the SC tip with the sample. The...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | MethodsX |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221501612300479X |
| _version_ | 1797405409373323264 |
|---|---|
| author | Carolina A. Marques Aleš Cahlík Berk Zengin Tohru Kurosawa Fabian D. Natterer |
| author_facet | Carolina A. Marques Aleš Cahlík Berk Zengin Tohru Kurosawa Fabian D. Natterer |
| author_sort | Carolina A. Marques |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Superconducting (SC) tips for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can enhance a wide range of surface science studies because they offer exquisite energy resolution, allow the study of Josephson tunneling, or provide spatial contrast based on the local interaction of the SC tip with the sample. The appeal of a SC tip is also practical. An SC gap can be used to characterize and optimize the noise of a low-temperature apparatus. Unlike typical samples, SC tips can be made with less ordered materials, such as from SC polycrystalline wires or by coating a normal metal tip with a superconductor. Those recipes either require additional laboratory infrastructure or are carried out in ambient conditions, leaving an oxidized tip behind. Here, we revisit the vacuum cleaving of an Nb wire to prepare fully gapped tips in an accessible one-step procedure. To show their utility, we measure the SC gap of Nb on Au(111) to determine the base temperature of our microscope and to optimize its RF filtering. The deliberate coating of the Nb tip with Au fully suppresses the SC gap and we show how sputtering with Ar+ ions can be used to gradually recover the gap, promising tunability for tailored SC gaps sizes. • Oxide free superconducting STM tips • RF filter optimization |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:10:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ebe9a429958f40ab836b4a6055288edd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2215-0161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:10:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | MethodsX |
| spelling | doaj.art-ebe9a429958f40ab836b4a6055288edd2023-12-04T05:22:52ZengElsevierMethodsX2215-01612023-12-0111102483Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopyCarolina A. Marques0Aleš Cahlík1Berk Zengin2Tohru Kurosawa3Fabian D. Natterer4Department of Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, Switzerland; Corresponding author.Department of Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, SwitzerlandDepartment of Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, SwitzerlandDepartment of Applied Sciences, Muroran Institute of Technology, Muroran 050-8585, JapanDepartment of Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich CH-8057, SwitzerlandSuperconducting (SC) tips for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can enhance a wide range of surface science studies because they offer exquisite energy resolution, allow the study of Josephson tunneling, or provide spatial contrast based on the local interaction of the SC tip with the sample. The appeal of a SC tip is also practical. An SC gap can be used to characterize and optimize the noise of a low-temperature apparatus. Unlike typical samples, SC tips can be made with less ordered materials, such as from SC polycrystalline wires or by coating a normal metal tip with a superconductor. Those recipes either require additional laboratory infrastructure or are carried out in ambient conditions, leaving an oxidized tip behind. Here, we revisit the vacuum cleaving of an Nb wire to prepare fully gapped tips in an accessible one-step procedure. To show their utility, we measure the SC gap of Nb on Au(111) to determine the base temperature of our microscope and to optimize its RF filtering. The deliberate coating of the Nb tip with Au fully suppresses the SC gap and we show how sputtering with Ar+ ions can be used to gradually recover the gap, promising tunability for tailored SC gaps sizes. • Oxide free superconducting STM tips • RF filter optimizationhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221501612300479XVacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| spellingShingle | Carolina A. Marques Aleš Cahlík Berk Zengin Tohru Kurosawa Fabian D. Natterer Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy MethodsX Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title_full | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title_fullStr | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title_short | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| title_sort | vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| topic | Vacuum cleaving of superconducting niobium tips to optimize noise filtering and with adjustable gap size for scanning tunneling microscopy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221501612300479X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carolinaamarques vacuumcleavingofsuperconductingniobiumtipstooptimizenoisefilteringandwithadjustablegapsizeforscanningtunnelingmicroscopy AT alescahlik vacuumcleavingofsuperconductingniobiumtipstooptimizenoisefilteringandwithadjustablegapsizeforscanningtunnelingmicroscopy AT berkzengin vacuumcleavingofsuperconductingniobiumtipstooptimizenoisefilteringandwithadjustablegapsizeforscanningtunnelingmicroscopy AT tohrukurosawa vacuumcleavingofsuperconductingniobiumtipstooptimizenoisefilteringandwithadjustablegapsizeforscanningtunnelingmicroscopy AT fabiandnatterer vacuumcleavingofsuperconductingniobiumtipstooptimizenoisefilteringandwithadjustablegapsizeforscanningtunnelingmicroscopy |