Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion and Spin-Polarization Filtering in Electron Beams

We propose the design of a space-variant Wien filter for electron beams that induces a spin half-turn and converts the corresponding spin angular momentum variation into orbital angular momentum of the beam itself by exploiting a geometrical phase arising in the spin manipulation. When applied to a spatially coherent input spin-polarized electron beam, such a device can generate an electron vortex beam, carrying orbital angular momentum. When applied to an unpolarized input beam, the proposed device, in combination with a suitable diffraction element, can act as a very effective spin-polarization filter. The same approach can also be applied to neutron or atom beams.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Magnetoresistance, Micromagnetism, and Domain Wall Scattering in Epitaxial hcp Co Films

Large negative magnetoresistance (MR) observed in transport measurements of hcp Co films with stripe domains were recently reported and interpreted in terms of a novel domain wall (DW) scattering mechanism. Here detailed MR measurements, magnetic force microscopy, and micromagnetic calculations are combined to elucidate the origin of MR in this material. The large negative room temperature MR reported previously is shown to be due to ferromagnetic resistivity anisotropy. Measurements of the resistivity for currents parallel (CIW) and perpendicular to DWs (CPW) have been conducted as a function of temperature. Low temperature results show that any intrinsic effect of DWs scattering on MR of this material is very small compared to the anisotropic MR.Comment: 5 pages, 5 Figures, submitted to PR

High resolution measurement and modelling of magnetic domain structures in epitaxial FePd (001) L10 films with perpendicular magnetization

Magnetic domain structures in two 50 nm thick chemically-ordered FePd (001) epitaxial films with different perpendicular anisotropies have been studied using Lorentz microscopy. Domain and domain wall structures vary significantly according to the magnitude of the anisotropy. For lower anisotropy films, a stripe domain structure with a period of ≈100 nm is formed in which there is a near-continuous variation in orientation of the magnetization vector. By contrast, in the film with higher anisotropy, a maze-like domain structure is supported. The magnetization within domains is perpendicular to the film plane and adjacent domains are separated by narrow walls, less than 20 nm wide. Micromagnetic modelling is generally in good quantitative agreement with experimental observations and provides additional information on the domain wall structure

Magnetoresistance behavior of bi-component antidot nanostructures

10.1209/0295-5075/103/67002EPL1036

Aberration-corrected multipole Wien filter for energy-filtered x-ray photoemission electron microscopy

The aberration of a multipole Wien filter for energy-filtered x-ray photoemission electron microscopy was analyzed and the optimized Fourier components of the electric and magnetic fields for the third-order aperture aberration corrections were obtained. It was found that the third-order aperture aberration correction requires 12 electrodes and magnetic poles. ©2007 American Institute of Physic