Quantitative magnetic force microscopy using calibration on superconducting flux quanta

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) requires precise calibration of probe magnetic properties.
• Superconducting vortices offer a unique, well-defined magnetic reference due to flux quantization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel calibration procedure for MFM tips using superconducting vortices.
• To assess the reliability of the monopole point-like approximation for MFM probes.
• To perform quantitative MFM analysis on magnetic thin films.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the quantized magnetic flux of superconducting vortices as a calibration standard.
• Testing the procedure on both new and worn MFM tips.
• Applying the calibrated MFM to image a soft ferromagnetic permalloy thin film.

Main Results:

• The procedure successfully calibrated MFM tips, confirming the validity of the monopole point-like probe model.
• Quantitative MFM measurements were performed on a permalloy film.
• The local out-of-plane magnetization component and its spatial variations were determined.

Conclusions:

• Superconducting vortex calibration is an effective method for MFM tip characterization.
• The monopole point-like approximation is reliable for quantitative MFM.
• This technique enables precise analysis of magnetic materials at the nanoscale.