Nanomaterials (Jun 2019)

Extracting the Dynamic Magnetic Contrast in Time-Resolved X-Ray Transmission Microscopy

  • Taddäus Schaffers,
  • Thomas Feggeler,
  • Santa Pile,
  • Ralf Meckenstock,
  • Martin Buchner,
  • Detlef Spoddig,
  • Verena Ney,
  • Michael Farle,
  • Heiko Wende,
  • Sebastian Wintz,
  • Markus Weigand,
  • Hendrik Ohldag,
  • Katharina Ollefs,
  • Andreas Ney

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9070940
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 7
p. 940

Abstract

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Using a time-resolved detection scheme in scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), we measured element resolved ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) at microwave frequencies up to 10 GHz and a spatial resolution down to 20 nm at two different synchrotrons. We present different methods to separate the contribution of the background from the dynamic magnetic contrast based on the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) effect. The relative phase between the GHz microwave excitation and the X-ray pulses generated by the synchrotron, as well as the opening angle of the precession at FMR can be quantified. A detailed analysis for homogeneous and inhomogeneous magnetic excitations demonstrates that the dynamic contrast indeed behaves as the usual XMCD effect. The dynamic magnetic contrast in time-resolved STXM has the potential be a powerful tool to study the linear and nonlinear, magnetic excitations in magnetic micro- and nano-structures with unique spatial-temporal resolution in combination with element selectivity.

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