Feasibility Study of Magnetic-Domain Observation by Means of Non-Resonant Magnetic X-Ray Diffraction

Although the observation of magnetic domains well below the surface of a sample appears to be relatively easy, in reality, magnetic domains inside metallic samples have not been investigated in detail due to a lack of adequate techniques. Non-resonant magnetic X-ray diffraction (NRMXRD) is a candidate for such 3-D magnetic microscopy. A relatively small focus size of less than 100 nm and a relatively long attenuation length of more than 100 μm can be obtained by using high-energy synchrotron X-rays. However, NRMXRD has a disadvantage in that the magnetic contrast is low. It is known that the magnetic contrast in NRMXRD increases with increasing the total polarization of the incident X-rays. In this feasibility study, we carried out NRMXRD experiments on a metallic iron sample to examine whether the magnetic contrast can be sufficiently enhanced even for high-energy X-rays.