An advanced magnetic reflectometer

A new experimental setup dedicated to the measurement of soft-x-ray magnetic absorption spectroscopy and soft-x-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry (soft-XRMR) is presented. XRMR is the combination of standard x-ray reflectometry with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism which provides chemical and magnetic depth profiles of layered thin-film samples. This new diffractometer is optimized for a broad variety of sample systems. Therefore a balanced design focusing on high magnetic fields, low temperatures, and full freedom of rotation has been realized in UHV. First experimental results obtained on a NiCoO/Co bilayer sample are presented showing the potential of the setup. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.