Element-selective mapping of magnetic moments in ultrathin magnetic films using a photoemission microscope

We combine X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and photoelectron emission microscopy to obtain locally resolved magnetic information on a microscopic scale. Scanning the photon energy across elemental absorption edges and recording microscopic images of the local secondary electron intensity for both photon helicities at each photon energy step allows to analyze local XMCD spectra at any position of the imaged area of the sample. With the help of magnetic sum-rules local quantitative information about magnetic moments can be extracted from such microspectroscopic measurements. The full power of XMCD as a spectroscopic tool is so maintained, while microscopic spatial resolution is added.