Revealing 3D magnetization of thin films with soft X-ray tomography: magnetic singularities and topological charges

Hierro-Rodríguez, A., Quirós, C., Sorrentino, A., Álvarez-Prado, L. M., Martin, J., Alameda, J. M., McVitie, S. , Pereiro, E., Velez, M. and Ferrer, S. (2020) Revealing 3D magnetization of thin films with soft X-ray tomography: magnetic singularities and topological charges. Nature Communications, 11, 6382. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20119-x) (PMID:33318487) (PMCID:PMC7736288)

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Abstract

The knowledge of how magnetization looks inside a ferromagnet is often hindered by the limitations of the available experimental methods which are sensitive only to the surface regions or limited in spatial resolution. Here we report a vector tomographic reconstruction based on soft X-ray transmission microscopy and magnetic dichroism data, which has allowed visualizing the three-dimensional magnetization in a ferromagnetic thin film heterostructure. Different non-trivial topological textures have been resolved and the determination of their topological charge has allowed us to identify a Bloch point and a meron-like texture. Our method relies only on experimental data and might be of wide application and interest in 3D nanomagnetism.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This project has been supported by Spanish MINECO under grant FIS2016-76058 (AEI/FEDER, EU) and grant PID2019-104604RB/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033. A.H.-R. and S.MV. acknowledge the support from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant ref. H2020-MSCA-IF-2016-746958.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:McVitie, Professor Stephen
Authors: Hierro-Rodríguez, A., Quirós, C., Sorrentino, A., Álvarez-Prado, L. M., Martin, J., Alameda, J. M., McVitie, S., Pereiro, E., Velez, M., and Ferrer, S.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Journal Name:Nature Communications
Publisher:Nature Research
ISSN:2041-1723
ISSN (Online):2041-1723
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Authors
First Published:First published in Nature Communications 11: 6382
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence

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