Construction and Operation of High-$T_c$ Scanning SQUID Microscope

We constructed a high-$T_c$ scanning SQUID microscope (SSM) operating in the liquid nitrogen. We used a washer-type YBCO SQUID with inner and outer dimensions of $12{\mu}m$ and $36{\mu}m$, respectively, which was grown on the $SrTiO^3$ bicrystal substrate. The sample, rather than SQUID, was scanned using two stepping motors. We also developed readout electronics, stepping motor controller, and the software for system control and data display. We took images of various samples using our SSM and found that the spatial resolution is about $40{\mu}m$ and noise level is lower than $10^{-7}T/{\surd}Hz$ at 100 Hz and higher at lower frequencies. The noise level was much higher than that of a typical SQUID due to the other coupling from the electric parts. We present a simple argument on the inductive coupling between the sample and the SQUID which should be under-stood for the proper interpretation of the obtained images. By comparing the measured data with the simulation results the gap between the SQUID and the sample is estimated to be $40{\mu}m$.