All-optical and microwave-free detection of Meissner screening using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

Microscopic studies on thin film superconductors play an important role for probing non-equilibrium phase transitions and revealing dynamics at the nanoscale. However, magnetic sensors with nanometer scale spatial and picosecond temporal resolution are essential for exploring these. Here, we present an all-optical, microwave-free method that utilizes the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond as a non-invasive quantum sensor and enables the spatial detection of the Meissner state in a superconducting thin film. We place an NV implanted diamond membrane on a $20nm$ thick superconducting La$2−x$Sr$x$CuO$4$ (LSCO) thin film with $Tc$ of $34K$⁠. The strong B-field dependence of the NV photoluminescence allows us to investigate the Meissner screening in LSCO under an externally applied magnetic field of $4.2mT$ in a non-resonant manner. The magnetic field profile along the LSCO thin film can be reproduced using Brandt’s analytical model, revealing a critical current density $jc$ of $1.4×108A/cm2$⁠. Our work can be potentially extended further with a combination of optical pump probe spectroscopy for the local detection of time-resolved dynamical phenomena in nanomagnetic materials.