Femtosecond X-ray magnetic circular dichroism absorption spectroscopy at an X-ray free electron laser.

/ Authors

D. Higley, K. Hirsch, G. Dakovski, E. Jal, Edwin Yuan, Tianmin Liu, A. Lutman, J. Macarthur, E. Arenholz, Zhao Chen

and 18 more authors

G. Coslovich, P. Denes, P. Granitzka, P. Hart, M. Hoffmann, J. Joseph, L. Le Guyader, Ankush Mitra, S. Moeller, H. Ohldag, M. Seaberg, P. Shafer, J. Stöhr, A. Tsukamoto, H. Nuhn, A. Reid, H. Dürr, W. Schlotter

/ Abstract

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy using an X-ray free electron laser is demonstrated with spectra over the Fe L(3,2)-edges. The high brightness of the X-ray free electron laser combined with high accuracy detection of incident and transmitted X-rays enables ultrafast X-ray magnetic circular dichroism studies of unprecedented sensitivity. This new capability is applied to a study of all-optical magnetic switching dynamics of Fe and Gd magnetic sublattices in a GdFeCo thin film above its magnetization compensation temperature.

Journal: The Review of scientific instruments

DOI: 10.1063/1.4944410