Magnetism under high pressure studied by 57Fe and 151Eu nuclear scattering of synchrotron radiation

The nuclear forward scattering (NFS) of synchrotron radiation is especially suited for probing magnetism at very high pressure, here in the Mbar range, by the nuclear resonances of ⁵⁷Fe and ¹⁵¹Eu. We report on high pressure (h.p.) NFS studies with the 14.4 keV transition of ⁵7Fe on magnetic RFe₂ Laves phases of cubic C15 structure (YFe₂, GdFe₂) and hexagonal C14 structure (ScFe₂, TiFe₂) at pressures up to 100 GPa (=1 Mbar). We present also h.p. NFS studies performed with the 21.5 keV resonance of ¹⁵¹Eu, probing the magnetism in the CsCl-type h.p. phase of EuTe. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Muon Spin Rotation and Relaxation Experiments on Thin Films

The recent development at the Paul Scherrer Institute of a beam of low energy muons allows depth dependent muon spin rotation and relaxation investigations in thin samples, multilayers and near surface regions (low energy SR, LE-SR). After a brief overview of the LE-SR method, some representative experiments performed with this technique will be presented. The first direct determination of the field profile just below the surface of a high-temperature superconductor in the Meissner phase illustrates the power and sensitivity of low energy muons as near-surface probe and is an example of general application to depth profiling of magnetic fields. The evolution of the flux line lattice distribution across the surface of a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ film in the vortex phase has been investigated by implanting muons on both sides of a normal-superconducting boundary. A determination of the relaxation time and energy barrier to thermal activation in iron nanoclusters, embedded in a silver thin film matrix (500nm), demonstrates the use of slow muons to measure the properties of samples that cannot be made thick enough for the use of conventional SR. Other experiments investigated the magnetic properties of thin Cr(001) layers at thicknesses above and below the collapse of the spin density wave.     

First μ+SR studies on thin films with a new beam of low energy positive muons at energies below 20 keV

At the Paul Scherrer Institute slow positive muons (μ⁺) with nearly 100% polarization and an energy of about 10 eV are generated by moderation of an intense secondary beam of surface muons in an appropriate condensed gas layer. These epithermal muons are used as a source of a tertiary beam of tunable energy between 10 eV and 20 keV. The range of these muons in solids is up to 100 nm which allows the extension of the μ⁺SR techniques (muon spin rotation, relaxation, resonance) to the study of thin films. A basic requirement for the proper interpretation of μ⁺SR results on thin films and multi-layers is the knowledge of the depth distribution of muons in matter. To date, no data are available concerning this topic. Therefore, we investigated the penetration depth of μ⁺ with energies between 8 keV and 16 keV in Cu/SiO₂ samples. The experimental data are in agreement with simulated predictions. Additionally, we present two examples of first applications of low energy μ⁺ in μ⁺SR investigations. We measured the magnetic field distribution inside a 500-nm thin High-T_C superconductor (YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ), as well as the depth dependence of the field distribution near the surface. In another experiment a 500-nm thin sample of Fe-nanoclusters (diameter 2.4(4) nm), embedded in an Ag matrix with a volume concentration of 0.1%, was investigated with transverse field μ⁺SR. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pressure-induced valence transition in EuNi2Ge2 studied by 151Eu nuclear forward scattering of synchrotron radiation

Hyperfine Interactions - We present the first application of nuclear forward scattering (NFS) of synchrotron radiation by the 21.5 keV transition of 151Eu for a high-pressure study. After...     

Depth-resolved profile of the magnetic field beneath the surface of a superconductor with a few nm resolution

The variation of a magnetic field as a function of depth beneath the surface of an YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) thin film in the Meissner state has been measured using low energy muons. The depth of implantation was varied from 20-150 nm by tuning the energy of the implanted muons from 3-30 keV. These are direct measurements of the penetration of a magnetic field beneath a superconducting surface which illustrate the power of low energy muons for near surface studies in superconductivity and magnetism.     

Superparamagnetism in Heterogeneous AgFe Thin Films – A Low Energy μSR Study

This paper describes a study of superparamagnetism in iron nanoclusters using low energy μSR, including for the first time zero field measurements, which yield an intrinsic nanocluster superparamagnetic relaxation rate of ν₀=67±15 MHz and an energy barrier of ΔE=37±4 K. TEM micrographs of the embedded clusters show there to be a range of shapes and also sizes, which is bourne out by SQUID magnetometry measurements. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.