Polarized neutron reflectometry: recent developments and perspectives

Polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) has an important role in solving non- collinear magnetic structures in thin films. In principle PNR provides the unambiguous determination of multi-axial magnetic depth profiles in systems of scientific and technological importance. However, only a limited number of problems have been solved unimpeachably, because the magnetic depth pro files were obtained by fitting procedures yielding solutions whose main fea tures were not evident in the raw data. A recent formulation of reflectomet ry, and the concurrent development of "total polarimetry" are now stimulati ng the design of neutron polarization and polarization analysis geometries capable of determining directly if and how a magnetic system contains a non -collinear structure in the film (x-y) plane. In the simplest of these geom etries the neutrons are polarized and analyzed along the z-axis perpendicul ar to the film plane. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.