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Kerr and Faraday microscope for space- and time-resolved studies

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Abstract

We present a multi-purpose scanning magneto-optical microscope for the investigation of magnetic thin films. The setup can be used for both static and time-resolved (pump-probe) measurements. It is moreover compatible with samples with arbitrary magnetic anisotropy, as it allows Kerr measurements in polar and longitudinal geometry as well as in transmission (Faraday geometry). We demonstrate that the microscope can be used in the following modi: (i) static imaging mode (in polar Kerr and Faraday geometry) with a spatial resolution of 1.7 μm; (ii) time-resolved mode (polar Kerr geometry) with a temporal resolution of 300 femtoseconds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schroedinger-Strasse 46, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Oliver Schmitt, Daniel Steil, Sabine Alebrand, Stefan Mathias, Mirko Cinchetti & Martin Aeschlimann

  2. Institute of Physics, Chemnitz University of Technology, 09107, Chemnitz, Germany

    Fabian Ganss & Manfred Albrecht

  3. Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198, Département Physique de la matière et des matériaux (P2M) CNRS, Nancy-Université, UPV-Metz, Nancy, France

    Michel Hehn & Stéphane Mangin

Authors
  1. Oliver Schmitt
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  2. Daniel Steil
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  3. Sabine Alebrand
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  4. Fabian Ganss
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  5. Michel Hehn
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  6. Stéphane Mangin
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  7. Manfred Albrecht
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  8. Stefan Mathias
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  9. Mirko Cinchetti
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  10. Martin Aeschlimann
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Correspondence to Oliver Schmitt.

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Schmitt, O., Steil, D., Alebrand, S. et al. Kerr and Faraday microscope for space- and time-resolved studies. Eur. Phys. J. B 87, 219 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2014-50257-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2014-50257-3

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