Advanced data analysis procedure for hard x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity discussed for Pt thin film samples of various complexity

• Main Authors: Krieft, Jan, Graulich, Dominik, Moskaltsova, Anastasiia, Bouchenoire, Laurence, Francoual, Sonia, Kuschel, Timo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 17-04-2020
• Subjects: Physics - Materials Science
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2004.08215

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 53, 375004 (2020) X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) is a powerful method to determine
the optical, structural and magnetic depth profiles of a variety of thin films.
Here, we investigate samples of different complexity all measured at the Pt
L$_3$ absorption edge to determine the optimal procedure for the analysis of
the experimental XRMR curves, especially for nontrivial bi- and multilayer
samples that include differently bonded Pt from layer to layer. The software
tool ReMagX is used to fit these data and model the magnetooptic depth profiles
based on a highly adaptable layer stack which is modified to be a more precise
and physically consistent representation of the real multilayer system. Various
fitting algorithms, iterative optimization approaches and a detailed analysis
of the asymmetry ratio features as well as $\chi^2$ (goodness of fit)
landscapes are utilized to improve the agreement between measurements and
simulations. We present a step-by-step analysis procedure tailored to the Pt
thin film systems to take advantage of the excellent magnetic sensitivity and
depth resolution of XRMR.