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| VOLUME 103 (2016) | ISSUE 1 | PAGE 38 |
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Polarized neutron channeling as a tool for the investigations of weakly magnetic thin films
S. V. Kozhevnikov+*, Yu. N. Khaydukov×°, T. Keller×°, F. Ott*, F. Radu∇
+Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia *Laboratoire Léon Brillouin UMR12 CEA/CNRS, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, France ×Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany °Max Planck Society Outstation at FRM-II, D-85747 Garching, Germany ∇Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
Abstract
We present and apply a new method to measure directly weak magnetization in thin films. The polarization of a neutron beam channeling through a thin film structure is measured after exiting the structure edge as a microbeam. We have applied the method to a tri-layer thin film structure acting as a planar waveguide for polarized neutrons. The middle guiding layer is a rare earth based ferrimagnetic material TbCo5 with a low magnetization of about 20 mT. We demonstrate that the channeling method is more sensitive than the specular neutron reflection method. |