High-sensitivity mapping of magnetic induction fields with nanometer-scale resolution: comparison of off-axis electron holography and pixelated differential phase contrast

We compare two transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based techniques that can provide highly spatially resolved quantitative measurements of magnetic induction fields at high sensitivity. To this end, the magnetic induction of a ferromagnetic NiFe nanowire has been measured and compared to micromagnetic modeling. State-of-the-art off-axis electron holography has been performed using the averaging of large series of holograms to improve the sensitivity of the measurements. These results are then compared to those obtained from pixelated differential phase contrast, a technique that belongs to pixelated (or 4D) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) experiments. This emerging technique uses a pixelated detector to image the local diffraction patterns as the beam is scanned over the sample. For each diffraction pattern, the deflection of the beam is measured and converted into magnetic induction, while scanning the beam allows a map to be generated. Aberration corrected Lorentz (field-free) configurations of the TEM and STEM were used for an improved spatial resolution. We show that the pixelated STEM approach, even when performed using an old generation of charge-coupled device camera, provides better sensitivity at the expense of spatial resolution. A more general comparison of the two quantitative techniques is given.

Automated summary

This study compares two TEM techniques for highly spatially resolved quantitative measurements of magnetic induction fields, showing that the pixelated STEM approach provides better sensitivity at the expense of spatial resolution. The results indicate that off-axis electron holography and pixelated differential phase contrast are effective methods for measuring magnetic induction in nanowires.