Local Manipulation of Superconducting Penetration Depth Probed by Magnetic Force Microscopy

Superconductivity results from attractive interactions between electrons, and controlling these interactions by modifying the surrounding environment offers an exciting research opportunity. One way to observe this control is through the variation of superconducting properties near the surface. In this work, we employ Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) to measure the Meissner screening force, allowing us to locally probe the superconducting penetration depth (λ). By altering the surrounding dielectric environment, we are able to modify λ locally. Additionally, we observe clear signatures of Meissner repulsion in samples much thinner than λ.