Imprinted spiral structures as neutron polarizers

Citation
W. Lohstroh et al., Imprinted spiral structures as neutron polarizers, PHYSICA B, 268, 1999, pp. 352-354
Citations number
9
Categorie Soggetti
Apllied Physucs/Condensed Matter/Materiales Science
Journal title
PHYSICA B
ISSN journal
09214526 → ACNP
Volume
268
Year of publication
1999
Pages
352 - 354
Database
ISI
SICI code
0921-4526(199906)268:<352:ISSANP>2.0.ZU;2-D
Abstract
Neutron diffraction from magnetic spiral structures is governed by strong s election rules for the polarization of the outgoing beam. When the sample i s entirely of one chirality - for instance a right-handed spiral - the neut rons diffracted by some Bragg reflections are fully polarized. While the sc attering theory has been formulated long ago, attempts to controllably modi fy the population of left-handed and right-handed spiral domains in natural magnetic structures (which for instance occur in some rare-earth metals) h ave been largely unsuccessful. In contrast, we have been able to imprint he lical magnetic structures in La/Fe multilayers (each layer approximately 30 Angstrom thick) simply by rotating the growing sample in a weak external h eld (3 Oe). A first estimate is given of the efficiency of these multilayer s as polarizers of neutron beams. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.