Abstract
Neutron diffraction from magnetic spiral structures is governed by strong selection rules for the polarization of the outgoing beam. When the sample is entirely of one chirality - for instance a right-handed spiral - the neutrons diffracted by some Bragg reflections are fully polarized. While the scattering theory has been formulated long ago, attempts to controllably modify the population of left-handed and right-handed spiral domains in natural magnetic structures (which for instance occur in some rare-earth metals) have been largely unsuccessful. In contrast, we have been able to imprint helical magnetic structures in La/Fe multilayers (each layer approximately 30 angstroms thick) simply by rotating the growing sample in a weak external field (3 Oe). A first estimate is given of the efficiency of these multilayers as polarizers of neutron beams.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 352-354 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Physica B: Physics of Condensed Matter |
Volume | 267-268 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1999 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | Proceedings of the 1998 2nd International Workshop on Polarised Neutrons for Condensed Matter Investigations, PNCMI '98 - Grenoble Duration: Sep 21 1998 → Sep 23 1998 |
Funding
Work in Göttingen was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft within SFB 345. Work at Argonne was supported by US department of energy, Basic Energy Science, Material Science contract #W-31-109-ENG-38.
Funders | Funder number |
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Basic Energy Science, Material Science | -31-109-ENG-38 |
U.S. Department of Energy | |
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft | SFB 345 |