When art meets science

Image Gallery

Explore the beauty of the very small with ProteusQ

With the Image Gallery we display a selection of the measurements done by Qnami’s Application Scientists in collaboration with researchers from all over the world. Using ProteusQ, the team was able to quantitatively image a broad range of material systems and magnetic phenomena. This collection shows how, with our Scanning NV Magnetometer, users can investigate magnetism at the nanoscale, bring unique innovative insight to materials engineering, and push the frontiers towards next-generation devices.

Enjoy the journey.

”

There is an art to science, and a science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole.

Isaac Asimov
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  • MRAM Bits: Thanks to the proven stability of ProteusQ users can perform long-term imaging cycles without worrying about drift while also applying external polar magnetic fields with the fully integrated Magneto PQ. V. Borras et al. arXiv:2306.15502 Each image of the shown grid is taken after applying a magnetic initialization and switching protocol. The scale of each image is ~10 μm x 10 μm Sample: STT-MRAM chips of 50 nm diameter, with 200 nm pitch, measured on top of a 200 nm thick encapsulation layer
  • The high sensitivity and spatial resolution of ProteusQ allow users to detect weak magnetic inhomogeneities that could deteriorate the quality of the memory wires as potential pinning sites for skyrmions and domain walls. U. Celano et Al, Nano Lett. 2021, 21, 24, 10409–10415 Full B magnetic map Sample: CoFeB ultra-scaled nanowires (6 nm wide)
  • Among state-of-the-art Scanning Probe Magnetometry technologies, Scanning NV Magnetometry is the one showing the spatial resolution and sensitivity to image magnetic fields at length scales relevant to spin qubit devices. ProteusQ’s accuracy is consistent for a wide range of measured stray magnetic fields: from weak magnetic fields coming from small halo particles to high magnetic fields coming from the entire Cobalt structure. L. Zaper et al, arXiv:2306.06650 Full B magnetic map at an intersection of two nanomagnets Sample: FEBID patterned Co nanomagnets
  • ProteusQ together with the Vario PQ sample holder allows measurements while applying varied external parameters such as current or voltage. The ProteusQ’s stability, together with the integrated pulsed measurements, and the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio of the Quantilever MX+ enable high-sensitivity noise spectroscopy mapping measurements to go beyond the state-of-the-art current flow characterization and accelerate the optimization of the device design. ODMR contrast given by the local AC stray field Sample: Graphene, contacted with Ti/Au electrodes
  • Fast sample turn-around and a wide range of optimized measurement modes allows the user to rapidly match the best mode to each sample, increasing measurement efficiency and drastically reducing the time to results. Ultrasensitive pulsed magnetic map Sample: BiFeO3/SrRuO3/ DyScO2
  • Unlike with other probe microscopies such as MFM, ProteusQ allows the user to characterize and fine-tune the properties of artificial spin ice structures without perturbing them. Thanks to unique Quantilever MX design, high-quality topographic images can be performed to assess both structural and magnetic properties of the sample. Full-B magnetic map Sample: Co nanomagnets
  • The stripe phase in ferromagnetic thin films is a hallmark for skyrmions. The stray magnetic field in such samples leads to quenching of the NV center when landed, an effect that can be exploited for high-resolution imaging. At a larger tip-to-sample distance, the quenching effect becomes weaker, permitting a quantitative measurement of the magnetic field. By combining the quenching and the lifted two-pass modes available with ProteusQ, users can both localize the chiral band domains and quantify their magnetic field. Full B magnetic map with lifted mode Sample: Heusler compound with chiral band domains
  • The full data set available by using the ProteusQ software, LabQ, allows the user to obtain both magnetic and topographical information on their samples. This unlocks the understanding of the interconnection between small magnetic textures and geometrical boundary conditions. Full B magnetic maps of antiferromagnetic domains projected on a 3D topographic image of differently shaped nanostructures Sample: La0.67Sr0.33FeO3
  • The large, precise dynamic range of the ProteusQ closed-loop positioning together with the optimal AFM performance of the Quantilever MX, allows accurate tracking and magnetic probing at the nanoscale even of a few microns rough samples. This curious monocellular creature usually creates a shell out of chalk, digesting the rocks in its usual habitat. However, when ferrous rock is available, it will use this, resulting in magnetic particles on its shell. Full B magnetic map projected on a 3D topographic image of the sample
  • ProteusQ empowered researchers to make sense of a variety of material systems and magnetic phenomena, ranging from memory devices to nanoparticles, from artificial spin ice systems to mineral shells. The team already looks forward to the next ones to come.
  • The high sensitivity and spatial resolution of ProteusQ allow users to detect weak magnetic inhomogeneities that could deteriorate the quality of the memory wires as potential pinning sites for skyrmions and domain walls. U. Celano et Al, Nano Lett. 2021, 21, 24, 10409–10415 Full B magnetic map Sample: CoFeB ultra-scaled nanowires (6 nm wide)
  • Among state-of-the-art Scanning Probe Magnetometry technologies, Scanning NV Magnetometry is the one showing the spatial resolution and sensitivity to image magnetic fields at length scales relevant to spin qubit devices. ProteusQ’s accuracy is consistent for a wide range of measured stray magnetic fields: from weak magnetic fields coming from small halo particles to high magnetic fields coming from the entire Cobalt structure. L. Zaper et al, arXiv:2306.06650 Full B magnetic map at an intersection of two nanomagnets Sample: FEBID patterned Co nanomagnets
  • ProteusQ together with the Vario PQ sample holder allows measurements while applying varied external parameters such as current or voltage. The ProteusQ’s stability, together with the integrated pulsed measurements, and the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio of the Quantilever MX+ enable high-sensitivity noise spectroscopy mapping measurements to go beyond the state-of-the-art current flow characterization and accelerate the optimization of the device design. ODMR contrast given by the local AC stray field Sample: Graphene, contacted with Ti/Au electrodes
  • Fast sample turn-around and a wide range of optimized measurement modes allows the user to rapidly match the best mode to each sample, increasing measurement efficiency and drastically reducing the time to results. Ultrasensitive pulsed magnetic map Sample: BiFeO3/SrRuO3/ DyScO2
  • Unlike with other probe microscopies such as MFM, ProteusQ allows the user to characterize and fine-tune the properties of artificial spin ice structures without perturbing them. Thanks to unique Quantilever MX design, high-quality topographic images can be performed to assess both structural and magnetic properties of the sample. Full-B magnetic map Sample: Co nanomagnets
  • The stripe phase in ferromagnetic thin films is a hallmark for skyrmions. The stray magnetic field in such samples leads to quenching of the NV center when landed, an effect that can be exploited for high-resolution imaging. At a larger tip-to-sample distance, the quenching effect becomes weaker, permitting a quantitative measurement of the magnetic field. By combining the quenching and the lifted two-pass modes available with ProteusQ, users can both localize the chiral band domains and quantify their magnetic field. Full B magnetic map with lifted mode Sample: Heusler compound with chiral band domains
  • The full data set available by using the ProteusQ software, LabQ, allows the user to obtain both magnetic and topographical information on their samples. This unlocks the understanding of the interconnection between small magnetic textures and geometrical boundary conditions. Full B magnetic maps of antiferromagnetic domains projected on a 3D topographic image of differently shaped nanostructures Sample: La0.67Sr0.33FeO3
  • The large, precise dynamic range of the ProteusQ closed-loop positioning together with the optimal AFM performance of the Quantilever MX, allows accurate tracking and magnetic probing at the nanoscale even of a few microns rough samples. This curious monocellular creature usually creates a shell out of chalk, digesting the rocks in its usual habitat. However, when ferrous rock is available, it will use this, resulting in magnetic particles on its shell. Full B magnetic map projected on a 3D topographic image of the sample
  • ProteusQ empowered researchers to make sense of a variety of material systems and magnetic phenomena, ranging from memory devices to nanoparticles, from artificial spin ice systems to mineral shells. The team already looks forward to the next ones to come.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK TO THE MEASUREMENTS
Qnami ProteusQ - thq quantum microscope to probe magnetic properties of your materials at the nanoscale

ProteusQ empowered researchers to make sense of a variety of material systems and magnetic phenomena, ranging from memory devices to nanoparticles, from artificial spin ice systems to mineral shells. The team already looks forward to the next ones to come.

Download the ProteusQ brochure

Do you want to know more about ProteusQ and how it can help you further in your research? Check our the ProteusQ brochure and contact our Sales Team to have an introductory call. Drop Ben and Joerg an email at sales@qnami.ch. 

Email Ben and Joerg

If you have a sample and want to assess its magnetic properties at the nanoscale, unveil its complex magnetic textures, and gain a deeper understanding of it, we might be able to help you. Let’s talk and check with our AppLab team if your sample is eligible for free proof-of-concept measurements. 

Applications

Antiferromagnetic bits measured with Scanning NV magnetometry

Antiferromagnetic bits measured with Scanning NV magnetometry

Denys Makarov's team at HZDR, together with the Qnami Application lab, demonstrated a method for creating binary states in antiferromagnetic materials.
A tool for NV diamond plate characterization with 10nm resolution

A tool for NV diamond plate characterization with 10nm resolution

Sergei Trofimov and Boris Naydenov from the Helmholtz Center in Berlin used Qnami Quantum Foundry diamond plates to achieve nanoscale quantum sensing with 13 nm resolution by combining confocal and atomic-force microscopy techniques.
Optimizing Off-Axis Fields for Vector Magnetometry

Optimizing Off-Axis Fields for Vector Magnetometry

Paul Stevenson’s research at Northeastern University utilized the Qnami ProteusQ microscope to enhance vector magnetometry, allowing precise measurement of both parallel and perpendicular stray fields in complex materials like bismuth ferrite.

Check all the other Applications

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