Development of Magnetization Measurement Devices Using Micro-dc-SQUIDs and a Sr _2 RuO _4 Microplate

We developed high-sensitivity magnetization measurement devices composed of micro-dc-SQUIDs and a superconducting Sr _2 RuO _4 microplate, aiming to investigate novel magnetic properties related to a spin-triplet chiral p-wave superconductor with a mesoscopic size. Micron-sized dc-SQUID was fabricated by thin Al electrodes, and the SQUID structure was improved to prevent magnetic fluxes from intruding into SQUID electrodes. A Sr _2 RuO _4 superconducting microplate was fabricated into the size as small as the SQUID loop using a focused ion beam and directly mounted on the SQUID with precise positioning for high-sensitivity magnetization measurements. In the preliminary magnetization measurements of this device, we observed vortices trapped into the plate and thus the lower critical field. The improved magnetization measurement device developed to exclude undesirable flux intrusion successfully enabled high-sensitivity detection of quantized vortex.