Submicron probes for Hall magnetometry over the extended temperature range from helium to room temperature

Abstract

We report on mesoscopic Hall sensors made from various materials and their suitability for accurate magnetization studies of submicron samples over a wide temperature range and, especially, at room temperature. Among the studied devices, the best stability and sensitivity have been found for Hall probes made from a high-concentration two-dimensional electron gas (HC-2DEG). Even at 300 K, such submicron probes can reliably resolve local changes in dc magnetic field of ≈1 G, which corresponds to a flux sensitivity of less than 0.1 φ0 (φ0=h/e is the flux quantum). The resolution increases 100 times at temperatures below 80 K. It is also much higher for the detection of ac magnetic fields because resistance fluctuations limiting the low-frequency stability of the studied devices can be eliminated. Our second choice for room-temperature Hall micromagnetometry is gold Hall probes, which can show a sensitivity of the order of 10 G. The capabilities of HC-2DEG and gold micromagnetometers are demonstrated by measuring nm-scale movements of individual domain walls in a ferromagnet.