Element-Selective Magnetic Imaging in Exchange-Coupled Systems by Magnetic Photoemission Microscopy

We have used a photoemission microscope to obtain element-resolved magnetic contrast in stacked magnetic thin film systems. Magnetic information is thereby provided by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Elemental sensitivity, which is crucial for studying magnetic coupling phenomena in systems with several different layers, is achieved by tuning the energy of the illuminating photons to atomic absorption edges. We present measurements of a Ni-coated Co micropattern on Cu(001), and a wedged Co/Cr/Fe(001) sample. In the former sample the Ni magnetization is seen to follow the magnetization of the Co pattern, thereby changing from an out-of-plane easy axis in areas without underlying Co to in…