SURFACE MAGNETISM INVESTIGATED BY LOW ENERGY ION SCATTERING IN THE GRAZING INCIDENCE MODE

Abstract

When scattering ions off surfaces, some particles are neutralized into excited states that are subsequently de-excited by light emission. In the case of magnetic surfaces the information about the spin of the captured electron might be accessed via the polarization of the emitted light. In the grazing incidence mode the surface sensitivity is highest due to the fact that the particles do not penetrate into the target surface but are scattered well above the uppermost atomic layer. Thus the electrons that neutralize the incoming ion originate from the topmost layer. This implies that the method is very well suited for investigating the properties of magnetic surfaces and multilayers. We present a UHV setup that serves this purpose as well as some results obtained for magnetized Fe(110) surfaces.