A New Polarized Neutron Reflectometerinstalled at Material Life Science Facility in J-PARC for Investigations of Magnetic Structures in Thin Films

摘要

The neutron reflectometer precisely determines the internal layer structures of thin films using neutron optical phenomena. When neutron impinges on the surface of thin films with a shallow angle, neutron reflects and refracts at the surface and interfaces above the critical angle. The external neutron reflectivity is governed by the depth profile of refractive index for neutrons. The refractive index of each layer depends on its density, nuclear scattering length, and in-plane component of magnetization. It is noted that the refractive index is dependent on the magnetization in the films and thus, the neutron reflectometry is a powerful technique for investigation of the magnetic structures of thin films with the length scale from nm to μm.