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  • Featured in Physics
  • Open Access

Bolometric Superconducting Optical Nanoscopy (BOSON)

Ran Jing1,2, Boyi Zhou1,3, Dingchen Kang1, Wenjun Zheng1, Zijian Zhou1, Heng Wang1, Xinzhong Chen1, Juntao Yao2,4, Bing Cheng1 et al.

Ji-Hoon Park1, Lukas Wehmeier6, Zhenbing Dai1, Shoujing Chen1, Christopher D. Prainito1, G. L. Carr6, Ilya Charaev7, Denis Bandurin8, Genda Gu2, Qiang Li1,2, Karl K. Berggren9, D. N. Basov5,*, Xu Du1, and Mengkun Liu1,6,†

  • *Contact author: db3056@columbia.edu
  • †Contact author: mengkun.liu@stonybrook.edu
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Phys. Rev. X 15, 031027 – Published 25 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/f13d-dpdn

Abstract

Superconducting transition-edge sensors are renowned for their extraordinary photon sensitivity and energy resolution, finding applications spanning quantum information, astronomy, and nanophotonics. Here, we report the development of bolometric superconducting optical nanoscopy (BOSON), a novel platform that integrates bolometric detection at the superconducting transition edges with near-field optical techniques. BOSON enables the mapping of photoinduced changes in superconductivity with unprecedented spatial resolution and photon sensitivity. By incorporating BOSON with low-dimensional materials, we achieved polariton imaging at nanowatt excitation levels—at least 4 orders of magnitude lower than the power typically required in prior near-field nanoscopy experiments. Our findings highlight the potential for BOSON to advance scanning-probe-based optical platforms to enable the detection of photons, polaritons, and Cooper pair dynamics at the nanoscale. This paves the way for quantum sensing applications using single-polariton detection and can offer deeper insights into quasiparticle dynamics.

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Nanometer-Resolved Images from Superconducting Technology

Published 25 July, 2025

An imaging method provides unprecedented resolution for studies of quantum materials by relying on superconductors’ extreme sensitivity to light.

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Popular Summary

Studying how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale using optical nanoscopy is essential for advancing quantum technologies. In this study, we introduce a new technique called BOSON (bolometric superconducting optical nanoscopy), which enables two key functionalities with unprecedented sensitivity: nanoscale mapping of superconducting transition edges and low-power detection of polaritonic excitations.

BOSON integrates superconductor sensors into a near-field scanning optical microscope, operating down to nanowatts of excitation power. The core sensing element is a nanoscale superconducting bridge, cooled near its critical temperature, where its resistance becomes highly responsive to local photon perturbations. As light is focused at the nanoscale via a scanning tip, even the tiniest heat generated by photon absorption induces detectable changes in resistance. This allows us to spatially resolve superconducting transitions and extract transition-edge maps with nanometer resolution. Simultaneously, the same platform can image polaritons—hybrid light-matter quasiparticles—in materials such as hexagonal boron nitride under ultralow optical power.

Our results demonstrate that BOSON opens a new regime for probing quantum materials by combining bolometric sensitivity with near-field resolution, offering a unique on-chip platform for detecting light propagation on 2D interfaces and light-matter interaction. The dual capabilities of detecting both superconducting phase transitions and faint polariton modes offer a versatile tool for characterizing next-generation quantum devices. Looking ahead, enhancements in spatial and optical sensitivity may enable single- or few-photon or polariton detection, pushing the boundaries of quantum optics and nanoscale metrology.

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Phys. Rev. X 15, 031027– Published 25 July, 2025
  • Received 5 March 2025
  • Revised 5 May 2025
  • Accepted 20 May 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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