Soft X-Ray Phase Nanomicroscopy of Micrometer-Thick Magnets
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American Physical Society (APS)
Department of Earth Sciences
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.14.031028
Department of Earth Sciences
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.14.031028
Abstract
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Imaging of nanoscale magnetic textures within extended material systems is of critical importance to both fundamental research and technological applications. While high-resolution magnetic imaging of thin nanoscale samples is well established with electron and soft x-ray microscopy, the extension to micrometer-thick systems currently requires hard x rays, which limits high-resolution imaging to rare-earth magnets. Here, we overcome this limitation by establishing soft x-ray magnetic imaging of micrometer-thick systems using the pre-edge phase x-ray magnetic circular dichroism signal, thus making possible the study of a wide range of magnetic materials. By performing dichroic spectroptychography, we demonstrate high spatial resolution imaging of magnetic samples up to <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mrow> <mn>1.7</mn> <mtext> </mtext> <mtext> </mtext> <mi mathvariant="normal">μ</mi> <mrow> <mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi> </mrow> </mrow> </math> thick, an order of magnitude higher than conventionally possible with soft x-ray absorption-based techniques. We demonstrate the applicability of the technique by harnessing the pre-edge phase to image thick chiral helimagnets, and naturally occurring magnetite particles, gaining insight into their three-dimensional magnetic configuration. This new regime of magnetic imaging makes possible the study of extended non-rare-earth systems that have until now been inaccessible, including magnetic textures for future spintronic applications, non-rare-earth permanent magnets for energy harvesting, and the magnetic configuration of giant magnetofossils. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
This project has re- ceived funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agree- ment No 101005611. R.J.H. acknowledges funding by the Electron and X-ray microscopy Community for structural and chemical Imaging Techniques for Earth materials (EXCITE) (award number G106564).
This project has re- ceived funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agree- ment No 101005611. R.J.H. acknowledges funding by the Electron and X-ray microscopy Community for structural and chemical Imaging Techniques for Earth materials (EXCITE) (award number G106564).