Coherent x-ray magnetic imaging with 5 nm resolution

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a breakthrough in soft x-ray magnetic imaging achieving 5 nm resolution, enabling detailed study of magnetic properties at fundamental length scales for advanced spintronics research.

Contribution

The authors combined holography-assisted coherent diffractive imaging with heterodyne amplification to significantly improve resolution and contrast in x-ray magnetic microscopy.

Findings

Achieved 5 nm resolution in x-ray magnetic imaging.

Enabled direct observation of domain wall profiles.

Mapped pinning site positions with high precision.

Abstract

Soft x-ray microscopy plays an important role in modern spintronics. However, the achievable resolution of most x-ray magnetic imaging experiments is above 10 nm, limiting access to fundamental and technologically relevant length scales. Here, we demonstrate x-ray magnetic microscopy with 5 nm resolution by combining holography-assisted coherent diffractive imaging with heterodyne amplification of the weak magnetic signal. The gain in resolution and contrast allows direct access to key magnetic properties, including domain wall profiles and the position of pinning sites. The ability to detect and map such properties with photons opens new horizons for element-specific, time-resolved, and in-operando research on magnetic materials and beyond.