AbstractSoft-x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) is the difference between the absorptivity or reflectivity of left and right circularly polarized soft-x-rays at the magnetically interesting L2,3- edges of 3d transition metals or the M4,5-edges of the 4f rare earth elements. Thanks to its large absorption cross-section and strong MCD effect, this technique has become a powerful new means for probing, in an element- and site-specific manner, the magnetic properties of ultra-thin films and multilayers. Soft-x-ray MCD experiments, recently conducted at the Dragon beamline, are utilized to demonstrate the recent progress in this technique and its applications in the research of magnetic thin films.
Magnetic anisotropy of L10-ordered FePt thin films studied by Fe and Pt L2,3-edges x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
