Breakthrough in quantum materials research thanks to new microscope
Leiden physicists and engineers have designed a microscope that can measure four important characteristics of a material with nanoscale precision in a single measurement. This accelerates research and innovation in the field of quantum materials.
The new microscope
Since 2021, Matthijs Rog and Kahev Lahabi have been working on the development of an advanced microscope with the technical name “Tapping Mode SQUID-on-Tip” (TM-SOT), also known within the team as “Tortilla”. What started as a construction project in the attic of the university building has now grown into a unique measuring instrument. The microscope can map four essential material properties in a single measurement: heat, magnetism, structure and electrical properties. It is precisely this combination that is so important for understanding and optimising quantum materials, which play an important role in next-generation technologies.
Quantum materials
Quantum materials are materials whose properties can only be properly understood using quantum mechanics. They behave differently from normal materials. They follow the rules of the quantum world, which normally only apply to small particles. One example is superconductors, in which no electricity is lost. At present, scientists do not yet fully understand how they function, and microscopes usually only work with flat specimens. The new microscope can visualise properties directly, even on a bumpy chip or a rough crystal, thereby answering long-unanswered questions. Although the functioning of these materials is not yet fully understood, the microscope offers new opportunities to investigate their behaviour at a fundamental level and gain a better understanding of it.
