Simple method for optimization of classical electron magnetic circular dichroism measurements: The role of structure factor and extinction distances

Sebastian Schneider, Devendra Negi, Matthew J. Stolt, Song Jin, Jakob Spiegelberg, Darius Pohl, Bernd Rellinghaus, Sebastian T. B. Goennenwein, Kornelius Nielsch, and Ján Rusz

Phys. Rev. Materials 2, 113801 – Published 9 November 2018

Abstract

Electron magnetic circular dichroism (EMCD), the electron wave analog of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), allows for the element specific measurement of the spin and orbital magnetic moments with up to nanometer resolution. However, due to dynamical diffraction effects, the signal-to-noise ratios of EMCD spectra are often very low. We describe a simple set of rules, how to set up a geometry for a classical EMCD experiment on an arbitrary crystal structure to get a maximum dichroic signal. The procedure is based on an evaluation of the structure factor and extinction distances. Proof-of-concept simulations and experiments on a FeGe crystal present a successful test of these guidelines.

Received 13 June 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.113801

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Magnetic texture

Helimagnets

Electron magnetic circular dichroism Transmission electron microscopy

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Sebastian Schneider^1,2, Devendra Negi³, Matthew J. Stolt⁴, Song Jin⁴, Jakob Spiegelberg³, Darius Pohl^5,1, Bernd Rellinghaus^5,1, Sebastian T. B. Goennenwein^2,6, Kornelius Nielsch^1,7, and Ján Rusz^3,1,*

¹Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden, Helmholtzstraße 20, 01069 Dresden, Germany
²Institut für Festkörper- und Materialphysik, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
³Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
⁴Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
⁵Dresden Center for Nanoanalysis, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
⁶Center for Transport and Devices of Emergent Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
⁷Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstraße 7, 01069 Dresden, Germany

^*jan.rusz@physics.uu.se

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Vol. 2, Iss. 11 — November 2018

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