Superconducting meander-line surface coil for NMR spectroscopy of nanoscale thin films

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful technique to study local magnetism in a variety of materials. However, the inherently low sensitivity of conventional inductively detected solid state NMR typically requires a large number of spins, reducing its applicability to two-dimensional (2D) materials and nanoscale thin films. To overcome this experimental challenge, we introduce a novel probe based on a superconducting meander-line surface coil that significantly enhances the NMR sensitivity for thin samples. Using a NbN meander with an optimized geometry, we demonstrate the sensitivity of this technique by detecting the NMR signal of a 150-nm-thick boron film containing only $\sim 2\times10^{16}$ $^{11}$B nuclear spins. Spin-echo measurements and theoretical modeling offer insight into the parameters limiting the coil's performance. This work lays the foundation for developing highly sensitive NMR probes, potentially unlocking new opportunities for studying atomically thin materials.