Three-dimensional visualization of magnetic domain structure with strong uniaxial anisotropy via scanning hard X-ray microtomography

Abstract

An X-ray tomographic technique was developed to investigate the internal magnetic domain structure in a micrometer-sized ferromagnetic sample. The technique is based on a scanning hard X-ray nanoprobe using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). From transmission XMCD images at the Gd L-3 edge as a function of the sample rotation angle, the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of a single component of the magnetic vector in a GdFeCo microdisc was reconstructed with a spatial resolution of 360 nm, using a modified algebraic reconstruction algorithm. The method is applicable to practical magnetic materials and can be extended to 3D visualization of the magnetic domain formation process under external magnetic fields. (C) 2018 The Japan Society of Applied Physics