We report on the development of a circularly polarized x-ray microprobe in
the intermediate energy range from 5 to 10 keV. In this experiment linearly
polarized synchrotron radiation was circularly polarized by means of a Bra
gg-diffracting diamond phase retarder and subsequently focused down to a sp
ot size of about 4 x 2 mu m(2) by a Fresnel zone plate. The properties of t
he microprobe were characterized, and the technique was applied to the two-
dimensional mapping of magnetic domains in HoFe2. (C) 2000 American Institu
te of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)01206-5].