Determination of domain wall chirality using in situ Lorentz transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

Controlling domain wall chirality is increasingly seen in non-centrosymmetric materials. Mapping chiral magnetic domains requires knowledge about all the vector components of the magnetization, which poses a problem for conventional Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) that is only sensitive to magnetic fields perpendicular to the electron beams direction of travel. The standard approach in LTEM for determining the third component of the magnetization is to tilt the sample to some angle and record a second image. This presents a problem for any domain structures that are stabilized by an applied external magnetic field (e.g. skyrmions), because the standard LTEM setup does not allow independent control of the angle of an applied magnetic field, and sample tilt angle. Here we show that applying a modified transport of intensity equation analysis to LTEM images collected during an applied field sweep, we can determine the domain wall chirality of labyrinth domains in a perpendicularly magnetized material, avoiding the need to tilt the sample.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 23, 2017
Source ID
10.1063/1.4977500

Entities

People

  • Benjamin J. Mcmorran
  • Eric E Fullerton
  • Jordan J. Chess
  • Sergio Montoya

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • M J Murdock Charitable Trust
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Basic Energy Sciences
  • University of California
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of Oregon
  • W. M. Keck Foundation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Geodesy
  • Microwave Engineering.
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics