New Ways to Observe Magnetic Nanostructures



 Researchers at Martin Luther university Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle have created a new way to observe magnetism with high resolution.

This novel method attained resolution of 70 nm, where normal light microscopes have a resolution of 500 nm. The scientists released the data in the current issue of ACS Nano. 

Normal optical microscopes are limited by light wavelength. Details below the 500 nm mark are not resolved. Scientist used the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) and a metallic nano scale tip. The ANE creates an electrical voltage in a magnetic metal. It is perpendicular to the magnetization and the temperature gradient.

Professor Georg Woltersdorf is from the Institute of physics at MLU. He reports “ A laserbeam focuses on the tip of a force microscope, and thus causes a temperature gradient on the surface of the sample that is specially limited to the nano scale. The metallic tip acts like an antenna and focuses the electromagnetic field in a tiny area below it’s Apex.”

This allows the measurements of the ANE to be performed with a much better resolution than normal light microscopy allows. The images published by the team were right around 70 nm.

One big advantage for this novel technique is that it also works with chiral anti-ferromagnetic materials.

Woltersdorf summarizes,” Our findings are significant for the thermoelectric imaging of spintronic components. We have already demonstrated this with chiral anti-ferromagnetics. With our method, it has two advantages: on one hand, we have greatly improved the spatial resolution of magnetic structures, far beyond the possibilities of optical methods. Secondly, it can also be applied to chiral Anti-ferromagnetic systems, which will directly benefit our cluster of excellence center for chiral electronics.”


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