The Scanning Quantum Cryogenic Atom Microscope (SQCRAMscope) uses an atomic Bose–Einstein condensate to measure magnetic fields emanating from solid-state samples. The quantum sensor does so with unprecedented d.c. sensitivity at micrometre resolution, from room to cryogenic temperatures¹. An additional advantage of the SQCRAMscope is the preservation of optical access to the sample so that magnetometry imaging of, for example, electron transport may be performed in concert with other imaging techniques. Here, we apply this multimodal imaging capability to the study of nematicity in iron pnictide high-temperature superconductors, where the relationship between electronic and structural symmetry breaking resulting in a nematic phase is under debate². We combine the SQCRAMscope with an in situ microscope that measures optical birefringence near the surface. This enables simultaneous and spatially resolved detection of both bulk and near-surface manifestations of nematicity via transport and structural deformation channels, respectively. By performing local measurements of emergent resistivity anisotropy in iron pnictides, we observe sharp, nearly concurrent transport and structural transitions. More broadly, these measurements demonstrate the SQCRAMscope’s ability to reveal important insights into the physics of complex quantum materials.

扫描量子低温原子显微镜（SQCRAMscope）使用原子玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚物测量固态样品发出的磁场。从室温到低温¹，量子传感器都能以前所未有的直流灵敏度实现微米级分辨率。SQCRAMscope的另一个优点是保留了对样品的光学通道，因此可以与其他成像技术协同执行例如电子传输的磁力计成像。在这里，我们将这种多模态成像功能应用于铁素体高温超导体的向列性研究，其中电子和结构对称性破坏导致向列相的关系尚处于辩论²。我们将SQCRAMscope与原位显微镜相结合，该原位显微镜可测量表面附近的光学双折射。这使得能够分别通过运输和结构变形通道同时并在空间上分辨出向列性的大量和近地表象。通过对铁素化物中出现的电阻率各向异性进行局部测量，我们观察到了尖锐的，几乎同时存在的传输和结构转变。从更广泛的意义上讲，这些测量证明了SQCRAMscope能够揭示对复杂量子材料物理学的重要见解。