Optical manipulation of single flux quanta.
Magnetic field can penetrate into type II superconductors in the form of Abrikosov vortices, which are magnetic flux tubes surrounded by circulating supercurrents often trapped at defects referred to as pinning sites. Although the average properties of the vortex matter in superconductors can be tuned with magnetic fields, temperature or electric currents, handling of individual Abrikosov vortices remains challenging and has been demonstrated only with sophisticated scanning local probe microscopies. Here we introduce a far-field optical method based on local heating of the superconductor with a focused laser beam to realize a fast and precise manipulation of individual vortices, in the same way as with optical tweezers. This simple approach provides the perfect basis for sculpting the magnetic flux profile in superconducting devices like a vortex lens or a vortex cleaner, without resorting to static pinning or ratchet effects.
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141700 Dolgoprudny, Russia.
I S
IS
Veshchunov
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Université de Bordeaux, LOMA, F-33405 Talence, France.
W
W
Magrini
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141700 Dolgoprudny, Russia.|Université de Bordeaux, LOMA, F-33405 Talence, France.
S V
SV
Mironov
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.
A G
AG
Godin
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.
J-B
JB
Trebbia
Université de Bordeaux, LOMA, F-33405 Talence, France.
A I
AI
Buzdin
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.
Ph
P
Tamarat
Université de Bordeaux, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.|Institut d'Optique &CNRS, LP2N, F-33405 Talence, France.
B
B
Lounis
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