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.
X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and x-ray absorption spectroscopy of novel magnetic thin films