2D imaging spin-filter for NanoESCA based on Au/Ir(001) or Fe(001)-p(1×1)O

Area of Science:

• Surface Science
• Electron Microscopy
• Quantum Materials

Background:

• Characterizing electron spin polarization is crucial for understanding magnetism and quantum phenomena.
• Existing methods for imaging spin polarization often lack the resolution or sensitivity required for detailed analysis.
• Photo-emission electron microscopy (PEEM) offers a powerful platform for surface imaging, but spin-resolved capabilities are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel two-dimensional (2D) imaging spin-filter for PEEM.
• To enable the imaging of electron spin polarization in both real and momentum space.
• To compare the performance of different scattering targets for spin-filtering applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 2D imaging spin-filter for PEEM.
• Utilized two types of scattering targets: Au/Ir(001) exploiting spin-orbit scattering and Fe(001)-p(1×1)O exploiting exchange interaction.
• Characterized scattering targets' working points and Sherman function.
• Acquired spin-polarization images of secondary electrons from magnetic domains of a polycrystalline iron sample.

Main Results:

• The Au/Ir(001) spin-filter demonstrated over 10^4 discrete detection channels, improving the 2D figure-of-merit (FoM) by four orders of magnitude over single-channel detectors.
• Successfully imaged two spin components using the exchange scattering target, a first for this technique.
• Characterization of scattering targets confirmed their suitability for spin-sensitive imaging.

Conclusions:

• The developed 2D imaging spin-filter significantly advances the capabilities of PEEM for spin polarization analysis.
• The use of Au/Ir(001) and Fe(001)-p(1×1)O targets provides distinct advantages for spin-resolved imaging.
• A method for detecting all three spin components was outlined, paving the way for complete spin characterization.