Grazing‐incidence synchrotron‐radiation 57Fe‐Mössbauer spectroscopy using a nuclear Bragg monochromator and its application to the study of magnetic thin films

Energy‐domain grazing‐incidence ⁵⁷Fe‐Mössbauer spectroscopy (E‐GIMS) with synchrotron radiation (SR) has been developed to study surface and interface structures of thin films. Highly brilliant ⁵⁷Fe‐Mössbauer radiation, filtered from SR by a ⁵⁷FeBO₃ single‐crystal nuclear Bragg monochromator, allows conventional Mössbauer spectroscopy to be performed for dilute ⁵⁷Fe in a mirror‐like film in any bunch‐mode operation of SR. A theoretical and experimental study of the specular reflections from isotope‐enriched (⁵⁷Fe: 95%) and natural‐abundance (⁵⁷Fe: ～2%) iron thin films has been carried out to clarify the basic features of the coherent interference between electronic and nuclear resonant scattering of ⁵⁷Fe‐Mössbauer radiation in thin films. Moreover, a new surface‐ and interface‐sensitive method has been developed by the combination of SR‐based E‐GIMS and the ⁵⁷Fe‐probe layer technique, which enables us to probe interfacial complex magnetic structures in thin films with atomic‐scale depth resolution.