Vectorial Kerr magnetometer for simultaneous and quantitative measurements of the

in-plane magnetization components

E. Jiménez, N. Mikuszeit, J. L. F. Cuñado, P. Perna, J. Pedrosa, D. Maccariello, C. Rodrigo, M. A. Niño, A.
Bollero, J. Camarero, and R. Miranda

Citation: Review of Scientific Instruments 85, 053904 (2014); doi: 10.1063/1.4871098

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 REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 85, 053904 (2014)

Vectorial Kerr magnetometer for simultaneous and quantitative

measurements of the in-plane magnetization components
E. Jiménez,1,a) N. Mikuszeit,2,b) J. L. F. Cuñado,1,2 P. Perna,2 J. Pedrosa,2 D.
Maccariello,1,2 C. Rodrigo,1 M. A. Niño,2 A. Bollero,2 J. Camarero,1,2,c) and R. Miranda1,2
1
Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada and Instituto “Nicolás Cabrera,” Universidad Autónoma
de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
2
Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia IMDEA-Nanociencia, Campus Universidad
Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
(Received 20 January 2014; accepted 1 April 2014; published online 22 May 2014)
A vectorial magneto-optic Kerr effect (v-MOKE) setup with simultaneous and quantitative determi-
nation of the two in-plane magnetization components is described. The setup provides both polariza-
tion rotations and reflectivity changes at the same time for a given sample orientation with respect to a
variable external magnetic field, as well as allowing full angular studies. A classical description based
on the Jones formalism is used to calculate the setup’s properties. The use of different incoming light
polarizations and/or MOKE geometries, as well as the errors due to misalignment and solutions are
discussed. To illustrate the capabilities of the setup a detailed study of a model four-fold anisotropy
system is presented. Among others, the setup allows to study the angular dependence of the hysteresis
phenomena, remanences, critical fields, and magnetization reversal processes, as well as the accurate
determination of the easy and hard magnetization directions, domain wall orientations, and magnetic
anisotropies. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4871098]

I. INTRODUCTION nate from the component perpendicular to the reflection plane

(transversal Kerr signal, proportional to my ). Usually, the po-
Magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) is widely applied
lar Kerr signal is one order of magnitude greater than the lon-
in Nanomagnetism research because of its high sensitiv-
gitudinal signal,4 but in thin films the magnetization generally
ity (down to nanometer thickness), vanishing substrate ef-
lies into the surface plane, i.e., mz = 0. It should be pointed
fects (limited penetration depth), immunity to external fields
out that the magnetization is not strictly fixed to the field di-
(photon-in/photon-out approach), and relatively simple exper-
rection during reversal. In such a situation, the Kerr signal
imental implementation. The experimental observations are
is a mixture of different Kerr effects. Several other groups
carried out utilizing the rotation of polarization and/or the
have shown different procedures to obtain the in-plane mag-
change in the intensity of a linearly polarized light beam
netization components by measuring several loops in differ-
upon reflecting from magnetic material subjected to a vari-
ent conditions.7–15 In this case, either the optical components
able magnetic field.1 As described below, both effects result
have to be changed,7, 9, 10, 12 the direction of the external mag-
from the off-diagonal components of the dielectric tensor,
netic field has to be varied,8, 11, 13, 14 or a combination of both
and are widely used to probe low dimensional magnetism.2–6
procedures have to be employed.15 Furthermore, the system
For instance, magnetic properties such as hysteresis and mag-
has to be calibrated after any changes are made.
netic anisotropy,4 critical temperatures,3 magnetic domains,5
and magnetization reversal processes6 can be determined by
MOKE. y y
Particular attention has been given to vectorial MOKE (a) (b)
(v-MOKE) magnetometry. Traditionally, different Kerr ge- Bx x By x
ometries have been used to determine the magnetization of p p p’
pp’ z
a given material, as schematically depicted in Fig. 1. In prac- z
s s’ s s’
tice, MOKE effects depend on the orientation of the magne- (c) y
tization vector M = (mx , my , mz ) with respect to the reflec-
Bz x
tion (xz) and sample (xy) planes. Polarization rotations arise
p
from magnetization components within the reflection plane p’’
z
(longitudinal and polar Kerr signals which are proportional to s s’
mx and mz , respectively), whereas reflectivity changes origi-
FIG. 1. Standard MOKE geometries: (a) Longitudinal: The applied field vec-
tor is parallel to both the surface and the reflection plane. (b) Transversal:
The field vector is parallel to the surface but perpendicular to the reflection
a) Present address: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38043 plane. (c) Polar: The field vector is perpendicular to the surface and parallel to
Grenoble, France. the reflection plane. The polarizations of the incident (s and p) and reflected
b) Present address: Laboratoire Nanostructures et Magnétisme (NM), SP2M, (s and p ) electric fields are also depicted, to illustrate that longitudinal and
INAC, CEA, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France. polar geometries exploit polarization rotations while the transversal geometry
c) Electronic mail: [email protected] uses the reflectivity changes (only for p).

0034-6748/2014/85(5)/053904/11/$30.00 85, 053904-1 © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

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 053904-2 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

The proof of concept for simultaneous acquisition of the

two in-plane components for a given field direction has been
provided with our study of orthogonally coupled ferromag-
netic films,16 which we extended to include an automated
v-MOKE setup to perform whole angular studies.6, 17–22
Other groups have recently implemented similar setup.23
Our studies have been focused on ferromagnetic (FM) and
antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials with different magnetic
anisotropy strengths and configurations. These include ran-
domly oriented magnetic nanostructures,17 single FM thin
films with well-defined uniaxial anisotropy,18, 22 and com-
petitive anisotropies.19, 24 Exchange-biased FM/AFM systems
with collinear6 and non-collinear20, 21, 25 anisotropy configu-
rations and exchange-biased spin valve structures26 have also
been investigated systematically with the setup. Our aim was
to disentangle their angular-dependent magnetic behaviors in
order to understand the influences of reduced dimensionality FIG. 2. Schematics of the setup. Light from a laser is polarized, focused by
a lens, and reflected at the surface of a sample, which is placed within the air
and magnetic symmetry on the magnetic properties. gap of an electromagnet. The divergent reflected beam is focused by a second
In this paper we provide a detailed experimental and lens. It passes through a λ/2-retarder to intermix the s- and p-waves. The two
theoretical description of our automated angular-dependent components are then split by a Wollaston prism. The according intensities are
v-MOKE setup, which can provide simultaneous and quan- measured using the twin photodiode electronic device, which provides IDC ,
titative information of the in-plane magnetization reversal IAC ,and I . The signals and the driven-field voltage are read and averaged
with a four-channels digital oscilloscope.
phenomena for both sample and field angle conditions. To il-
lustrate the capabilities of the setup, we present a full-angular
study performed in a model four-fold magnetic anisotropy Taylor prism polarizer with extinction coefficient 5 × 10−5 ,
system. and a focusing lens. The latter defines the size of the laser
The paper is organized as follows. The experimental de- spot on the sample, i.e., the measured area. The polarizer is
tails of the setup are described in Sec. II. The theoretical de- mounted on a rotatable head that sets the polarization of the
scription is given in Sec. III, including the discussion on errors incoming beam. As shown below, simultaneous acquisition
due to misalignments and solutions. A detailed description of of polarization rotations and reflectivity changes requires in-
the model is further reported in the Appendix. Section IV in- coming p-polarized incident light, whereas s-polarized inci-
troduces the measurement and analysis procedures to obtain dent light provides only polarization rotations. Therefore, for
simultaneous and quantitative information. The full angular simultaneous determination of the two in-plane magnetization
study performed in a Fe(100) thin film epitaxially grown on components, i.e., mx (H), my (H), the polarization of the laser
MgO(100) is given in Sec. V. The angular dependence of is set to p. In turn, s-polarized light is used for cross check-
the hysteresis phenomena, remanences, critical fields, domain ing and to evaluate out-of-plane magnetization components,
wall angles, and magnetization reversal processes are also dis- i.e., mz (H), after the combination of two hysteresis loops with
cussed in Sec. V, as well as how to determine accurately the reversed optical geometry.11
easy and hard magnetization directions, the domain wall ori- The reflected branch is equipped with a lens, a half-
entations, and the magnetic anisotropy. The summary is pre- wave plate (λ/2), a Wollaston prism with extinction coefficient
sented in Sec. VI, concluding that the magnetic symmetry of 10−5 , and the home-made Twin Photodetector (TP) device.
the system controls its main features, and suggesting that sim- The λ/2 retarder, set to 22.5◦ of the optical axes, intermixes
ilar studies have to be performed in order to obtain a basic the outgoing s - and p -waves (see discussion, Sec. III). Fi-
understanding of low dimensional magnetic systems. nally, the s - and p -waves are split into two separate beams
using the Wollaston prism. The intensity of the beams is mea-
sured by the photodiodes of the TP device, which is at the
II. THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
very heart of our setup. The TP device provides three outputs:
Our home-made v-MOKE system combines simultane- the sum of the signals coming from both photodiodes (IDC ),
ous acquisition of rotations of polarization and changes of re- the AC component of the sum (IAC ), and the difference (I ).
flectivity for a given sample orientation with respect to a vari- As described below, IAC accounts for reflectivity variations,
able external magnetic field, and allows full angular studies. whereas I accounts for polarization rotations. IDC is related
The system is sketched in Fig. 2. The setup is placed on an to the total reflectivity and is used to normalize the other two
optical bench and can be explained in three parts, the optical signals, in order to correct photon flux variations of the laser
path, the mechanical sample stage, and the control unit. during the acquisition of a whole angular series.
The optical path is attached to the optical bench by us- The mechanical part of the setup consists of an xyz-
ing two rails, referred to as incident and reflected branches, sample stage, a rotatable eucentric goniometer, and a rotatable
forming a v-shape with the sample position in the vertex. The electromagnet. The positioning stage in combination with
incident branch is provided with an intensity stabilizing ran- the focused beam and a microscope allows the selection of
domly polarized 5 mW HeNe laser (λ = 632 nm), a Glan- specific areas of microstructured samples. Spot sizes from
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 053904-3 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

2 mm down to 30 μm can be used. The sample is placed on the For the sake of simplicity we use the frame of reference
eucentric goniometer head to ensure a fixed plane of reflection shown in Fig. 1. The x and y directions are lying within the
upon sample rotation. In magneto-optical measurements this film plane, the surface normal is the z direction, and the in-
is important to be able to compare the values of the magneti- cident angle θ i is contained in the xz reflection plane. All
zation components measured at different angles and between calculations presented here are performed using the Jones
different samples. The whole head can be rotated by a step- formalism.28 It is important to note that rss is independent of
ping motor in steps of 0.9◦ . The magnetic field is provided by magnetization. The components rsp and rps are proportional
a home-made air-gap electromagnet. We have developed and while rpp contains an additional constant term. Upon reflec-
calibrated several electromagnets with different gaps and/or tion on the surface of the magnetic sample the electric field
coil turns, depending on the frequency and maximum field vector E of the incident light is reflected and results in E  as
required. Magnetic fields up to ±100 mT driven at frequen-
cies up to 1 kHz can be obtained. This enables performing E  = rE.
 (2)
dynamic studies over 10 orders of magnitudes of applied field Naturally, the final measurement procedure consists of mea-
sweep rates, from 10−4 mT/s to 10+6 mT/s. In the present suring the intensity, i.e., I = E  · (E  )∗ where the asterisk de-
study, we have used a 10 mm air-gap electromagnet mounted notes the complex conjugate. It is easily seen that the intensity
on a rotatory stage, allowing a controlled way to change from of the reflected s -polarized light due to incoming p-polarized
longitudinal to a transversal MOKE geometry. Polar geome- light (or vise versa) results in a signal that is quadratic in m.
try can also be set. Consequently, such a measurement does not give proper in-
The control unit consists of a computer, an arbitrary func- formation on the magnetic state of the sample. However, the
tion generator driving a bipolar current source, and a four measurement of the reflected p -polarization of incoming p-
channels digital oscilloscope. Via a home-made measurement polarized light gives
software, the computer controls the stepper motor of the go-
niometer as well as the applied magnetic field ramp. The latter Ip = Ep (Ep )∗ = cc∗ + 2Re[cd ∗ ]my + dd ∗ m2y
is driven by the bipolar current source programmed with the  
arbitrary function generator. Additionally, the software reads ≈ cc∗ + 2Re[cd ∗ ]my + O m2y , (3)
out the hysteresis data, i.e., the signals from the digital oscillo-
scope triggered by the trigger output of the arbitrary function assuming the typical case where Re[cd ∗ ]  dd ∗ . Hence, the
generator. The signals are constant term in rpp allows for easy measurement of my in a
transverse Kerr setup.
1. The applied voltage to the coil: applied field ramp. The presented setup is based on the idea of introducing
2. I : the difference of intensities on the diodes. an additional constant term in the Es component, therefore
3. IDC : the DC component of the sum of intensities. generating a linear term in the corresponding intensity. This
4. IAC : the AC component of the added intensities. is achieved by introducing a λ/2-retarder L2 , rotated by π /8
The software allows adjustment of the parameters to perform off the optical axes, and by reading the two orthogonal com-
specific measurement procedures in order to carry out vecto- ponents of the reflected light. In general, the reflected signal
rial resolved magnetization reversal studies in the whole an- has the form
   
gular range. These may include major and minor loops, and/or Es Es
first order magnetization curves as well as quasi-static and dy- = L2 r
Ep Ep
namical studies.
   
i 1 1 rss rsp Es
= √ . (4)
III. THEORETICAL DETAILS OF THE SETUP 2 1 −1 rps rpp Ep

All Kerr measurements are based on the fact that the mag- For simplification let us assume only in-plane magnetization,
netization alters the dielectric tensor such as making an other- i.e., mz = 0, and incoming pure p-polarized light. The electric
wise isotropic material optically anisotropic. Proper consid- field vector after passing the retarder then has the form
erations of the boundary conditions of Maxwell’s equations    
enable the calculation of the corresponding reflection matrix Es b1 mx + c + dmy
= Ep , (5)
of a magnetic material.27 Typically the symmetry breaking Ep b1 mx − c − dmy
due to the magnetization results only in small modifications
of the reflection matrix such that the optical anisotropy can and the intensities read
be handled as a first order perturbation. The components of I0  2
Is = |c| + |b1 |2 m2x + |d|2 m2y + 2Re[b1 d ∗ ]mx my
the reflection matrix for a thin magnetic film are given in the 2
Appendix. It is found that in the first order the matrix is of the 
form + 2Re[b1 c∗ ]mx + 2Re[dc∗ ]my ,
(6)
    I0  2
rss rsp a b1 mx + b2 mz Ip = |c| + |b1 |2 m2x + |d|2 m2y − 2Re[b1 d ∗ ]mx my
r= ≈ . 2
rps rpp −b1 mx + b2 mz c + dmy 
(1) − 2Re[b1 c∗ ]mx + 2Re[dc∗ ]my ,
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 053904-4 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

where I0 is the intensity of the incident beam. Adding and whereas for transversal MOKE geometry, i.e., By ,
subtracting the two intensities gives
IAC
∗ ∗ M = my ∝ , (14)
I = Is − Ip = 2I0 {Re[b1 c ]mx + Re[b1 d ]mx my } IDC
≈ 2I0 Re[b1 c∗ ]mx + O(mx my ), I
p
M⊥ = mx ∝ 2θK ≈ . (15)
 IDC
I = Is + Ip = I0 |c|2 + |b1 |2 m2x + |d|2 m2y
Notice that each in-plane magnetization component can be
 (7)
+ 2Re[b1 d ∗ ]mx my + 2Re[dc∗ ]my derived independently from Kerr rotations or reflectivity
changes, depending on the MOKE geometry. This will be
≈ I0 {|c|2 + 2Re[dc∗ ]my } used to determine experimentally the scale factor between
  both Kerr effects to obtain quantitative information of the in-
+ O m2x , m2y , mx my . plane resolved hysteresis loops. This is further discussed in
Sec IV.
As a result the difference signal is proportional to mx , whereas
the sum is linear in my , but has an additional DC-component,
i.e., IDC = |c|2 = |rpp | . Note that due to this DC component
DC 2 A. Errors due to misaligned optical components
one finally gets
In the previous paragraph the ideal case has been dis-
 DC ∗ rsp DC  DC ∗
I 2Re[rsp rpp ] 2Re r DC rpp rpp cussed. In experiment, however, one must assume small an-
= =
pp
    gular errors in the optical components, i.e., polarizer, λ/2-
IDC r DC 2 r DC 2 retarder, and analyzer. Let us assume that these components
pp pp
have angular errors of α 1 , α 2 , and α 3 . In the following errors
rsp p of the order α i α j (i, j = 1, 2, 3) as well as α i mξ mζ (ξ , ζ = x,
= 2Re ≈ 2θK ∝ mx , (8)
DC
rpp y, z) are neglected. In this approximation the final intensities
including errors have the form
AC
IAC rpp I ∝ I(1) + 2Re[b1 d ∗ ]mx my + 2Re[b2 d ∗ ]mz my
DC
= 2Re DC ∝ my , (9)
I rpp
+ 2α1 (Re[ac∗ ] + Re[ad ∗ ]my )
which are the Kerr rotation and reflectivity change, which are
proportional to the two in-plane components of the magneti- + 2(2α2 − α3 )I(1) , (16)
zation mx and my , respectively.
Similarly for incoming s-polarized light one obtains for and
the difference and the sum terms I ∝ I(1) + |d|2 m2x + |b1 |2 m2y + |b2 |2 m2z
I rps + 2Re[b1 b2∗ ]mx mz
= 2Re DC ≈ 2θKs ∝ mx , (10)
IDC rpp
+ 2α1 (Re[a ∗ b1 − b1 c∗ ]mx + Re[a ∗ b2 + b2 c∗ ]mz )
I I DC
=  = Rss , (11)
I0 I0 − α3 I(1) , (17)
the Kerr angle and a constant term, respectively. In this case, where I(1) and I(1)are the error free first order approxima-
the sum, I , does not contain useful information other than tions of the signals. Furthermore, the summation and subtrac-
Rss = |rss |2 , as I ∝ Rss + O(m2y ). Consequently, there is no tion, resulting in I and I , are assumed to be without error.
IAC in the first order. Note that α 2 does not effect I as its effect cancels out in the
Therefore, the combination of p-polarized light and the sum, but mixes I into I . Moreover, α 3 intermixes I and I ;
detection of the two orthogonal components of the reflected however, due to the adding and subtracting of the signals, I
light at the same time allows the determination of both in- is doubly affected. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that
plane magnetization components simultaneously. Notice that the measured intensities, at both diodes, are dominated by the
this is accomplished independently of the MOKE geometry. term Ip, s ≈ I0 /2|c|2 . This term defines the photon noise. As-
In this sense, we define the in-plane magnetization compo- suming a Poisson statistic the resulting photon noise in each
nents parallel M and perpendicular M⊥ with respect to the ex- channel is proportional to |c|. Hence, the linear approxima-
ternal magnetic field direction. In correspondence with Fig. 1, tion becomes better with increasing c and the relative photon
for longitudinal MOKE geometry, i.e., Bx , the in-plane mag- noise decreases with |c|−1 .
netization components can be derived from To minimize the errors of α 1 and α 3 one first omits the
I retarder plate and introduces a non-magnetic reflecting ma-
p
M = mx ∝ 2θK ≈ , (12) terial, i.e., without off-diagonal elements. Assuming that one
IDC
wishes incoming s-polarized light, the according intensity is
IAC at the lowest order approximation of the form
M⊥ = m y ∝ , (13)
IDC Ip ∝ (rpp α1 − rss α3 )2 . (18)
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 053904-5 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

This equation, however, has infinite solutions. Therefore, the cleaned by repeated cycles of sputtering with 0.5 kV Ar+
optimizing process consists in three steps. First one of the po- ions and annealing up to 800 K. Fe deposition was performed
larizers is repeatedly rotated by 180◦ , such that the beam is at 400 K with a home-made electron-beam evaporator at a
entering from the opposite site. This operation transforms the rate of about 0.4 nm/min. After deposition, the samples were
according angle into its negative and the intensity will remain annealed to about 750 K, in order to reduce possible de-
unchanged only if the angle is 0. In the second step the in- fects formed during the epitaxial growth, and characterized by
tensity in the p-channel must be minimized for the second low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The Fe film grows
polarizer. As the minimum is quadratic, a precise adjustment according to the well-known Fe(001)[110] MgO(001)[100]
can be difficult. This can be avoided by finding two opposite epitaxial relation, as indicated by diffraction LEED patterns
angles with identical intensity, such that the minimum will be (not shown). The film was then capped at room tempera-
at the average of these two angles. This procedure is applied ture with a 3 nm thick Cu film, to prevent oxidation. The
when incoming p-polarized light is required. Finally the re- four-fold crystal symmetry of the Fe(100) film promotes
tarder is reintroduced. The retarder position is then optimized a pure biaxial magnetic anisotropy in the film, as shown
by making the intensities in the Is and Ip channel identical, below.
thereby minimizing I .

A. The measurement procedure

B. Optional λ/4-retarder
A simple measurement procedure starts with a field cal-
In Sec. III, the theoretical description of the setup has ibration. Next, the eucentric goniometer is aligned to have a
shown that the detection of the two orthogonal light reflected fixed reflection plane upon sample rotation. This allows that
components using incoming p-polarized light can provide, at the absolute values of the magnetization determined in dif-
first order, the simultaneous determination of the Kerr rotation ferent measurements can be compared. In addition, a fixed
angle and reflectivity variation, which are related to the two reflection plane allows for the compensation of diamagnetic
in-plane magnetization components. For instance, for longi- or paramagnetic contributions, by subtracting the same lin-
tudinal MOKE geometry, mx is provided by the Kerr angle, ear function for the whole angular study. In order to improve
whereas the change of reflectivity gives my . the signal-to-noise ratio, the λ/2 retarder must be tuned to
In principle, the polarization rotation of a linearly polar- get comparable signals in both photodiodes by centering I
ized incident light when reflected by a magnetic material can around zero voltage on the oscilloscope screen. The main er-
be quantified by the Kerr rotation angle θ K , as shown above, ror source comes from mechanical vibrations. This random
and by the Kerr ellipticity ε. In order to deal with the latter, an noise is avoidable by using the built-in averaging features of
additional quarter wave-plate (λ/4-retarder) before the Wol- the oscilloscope and/or multiple acquisitions with additional
laston prism can be introduced in the setup, since it produces averaging processes via software. The measurement parame-
a π /2 phase difference between the p - and s -reflected com- ters such as, applied field, frequency, number of taken hys-
ponents and interchanges Kerr angle and ellipticity.4 Within teresis loop per angle, are set within the control program.
the Jones formalism, the additional λ/4-retarder has the form From this point a full series of measurements can be per-
 
i 1+i 0 formed completely automatically as the sample is rotated
√ . (19) by the stepping motor. α H is the in-plane angle of the sam-
2 0 1−i
ple with respect to the (fixed) external field. For each an-
It is easy to find that the sum is not affected by the λ/4- gle α H , hysteresis loops with the given field parameters are
retarder, such that the result is identical to Eq. (9) and recorded.
Eq. (11) for incoming p and s polarized light, respectively. The v-MOKE measurements were performed at room
For the difference, one finally gets temperature with a 10 Hz triangular-shaped magnetic field
 ramp. For each angular condition the signals were averaged
I  rsp p during 1 min (i.e., over 600 loops). Our setup provides a
= 2Im DC ≈ 2εK ∝ mx , (20)
 DC λ/4,p rpp sensitivity better than 1μrad and 10−6 for Kerr rotation an-
gles and reflectivity changes, respectively. For the present
 study, the accuracy of both in-plane magnetization compo-
I  rps
DC  = 2Im DC ≈ 2εKs ∝ mx , (21) nents normalized to the saturation magnetization value was
 λ/4,s rpp better than 10−3 . It is worth mentioning that the experimental
for incoming p and s polarized light, respectively. In both data presented here is the raw data without any linear compen-
cases the difference is proportional to the Kerr ellipticity. sation, indicating negligible diamagnetic contributions from
both MgO substrate and Cu capping layer.

IV. EXPERIMENT
B. The analysis procedure
The capabilities of our v-MOKE setup are shown by pre-
senting detailed angular measurements of a 20 nm thick Fe A typical experimental data set for one angular condition
film epitaxially grown on a MgO(100) single crystal sub- is shown in Fig. 3. In this case, longitudinal geometry, incom-
strate in ultra-high-vacuum conditions. The substrate was first ing p-polarized light, and α H = 18◦ were used. α H = 0◦ is
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 053904-6 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

FIG. 4. M (H) curves acquired at the easy axis in longitudinal (left y-axis)
and transversal (right y-axis) MOKE geometries, as depicted schematically
on top. Notice that the hysteresis curves are obtained from different Kerr
effects, i.e., polarization rotation and reflectivity change, respectively. The
scale factor is 0.4.

FIG. 3. Top: Time evolution of the different channels recorded simultane-

ously with the digital oscilloscope: (a) The field is represented with filled C. Scale factor between Kerr effects
symbols (left y-axis), whereas the open symbols are the total reflectivity IDC
(right y-axis). (b) The difference I (circle symbols, left y-axis) and the re-
The procedure to determine experimentally the factor be-
flectivity changes IAC (square symbols, right y-axis, red online). Bottom: (c) tween the Kerr effects is schematically shown in Fig. 4. In
Corresponding in-plane vectorial-resolved magnetization hysteresis loops. brief, the scale factor is calculated by comparing in-plane
The in-plane magnetization components parallel M (black) and transversal resolved hysteresis curves acquired in both longitudinal and
M⊥ (gray) to the field direction are derived from I and IAC , respectively, as
discussed in the text. Solid and open symbols correspond to descending and transversal MOKE geometries, for the same relative orien-
ascending field branches, respectively. tation of sample and field. According to Eqs. (12) and (14)
(Eqs. (13) and (15)), the parallel (transversal) component of
the magnetization can be derived from polarization rotation
taken when the external magnetic field is aligned parallel with (reflectivity change) and reflectivity change (polarization ro-
the [100] in-plane Fe-crystal direction, which corresponds to tation) for longitudinal (transversal) geometry. For instance,
a magnetization easy-axis direction. Fig. 3(a) shows the time the graph of Fig. 4 compares M (H) curves acquired at the
evolution of the applied magnetic field, driven by the current magnetization easy-axis, i.e., α H = 0◦ , with both geometries.
into the coil, and the IDC , i.e., sum of intensities measured at The curves are qualitatively similar and the proportionality
both photodiodes which is proportional to the total reflectiv- factor gives the scale factor between both Kerr effects. Since
ity. IDC is approximately constant during a single acquisition the optical plane is kept fixed, the scale factor can be applied
and is used to normalized the other two intensities, to correct for any other α H condition, for the whole angular study. The
possible photon flux changes during a complete acquisition quantitative information between magnetization components
series. is crucial in order to study the magnetization reversal pro-
The time evolution of I /IDC and IAC /IDC are displayed cesses and, in particular, to determine the direction of mag-
in Fig. 3(b). Notice that different y-axis scales have been used, netization and the domain wall orientation during hysteresis
originating from different Kerr effects, namely, Kerr rotation loop. This is discussed in Sec V.
and reflectivity change. Quantitative information is reached
by using a scale factor between both, as described below.
D. s vs. p incoming polarized light
Finally, the vectorial-resolved in-plane hysteresis loops are
derived from the time evolutions by plotting the processed The capability of the setup to determine simultane-
signals, scaled and normalized, as function of corresponding ously the two in-plane magnetization components required
magnetic field values, as Fig. 3(c) shows. The in-plane re- incoming p-polarized light, independently from the Kerr
solved hysteresis loops are referred to the surface magnetiza- geometry used. Fig. 5 compares measurements performed
tion components of the film with respect to the applied mag- with incoming s and p polarization. Two different α H an-
netic field direction, i.e., parallel M and perpendicular M⊥ to gle conditions are shown. At the easy axis, i.e., α H = 0◦ ,
μ0 H. where the magnetization vector lies always aligned along
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 053904-7 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

that a single Fe(100) thin film presents. Two different repre-

sentations, standard M–H (top graphs) and polar M⊥ –M (bot-
tom graphs) curves, have been used in order to identify rele-
vant magnetic properties. Remarkably, a simple inspection of
the in-plane resolved hysteresis loops provides direct infor-
mation about the magnetization easy-axis (e.a.) and hard-axis
(h.a.) directions, critical fields, domain wall angles and mag-
netization reversal processes.
At first glance, the in-plane resolved hysteresis loops
display different magnetization reversal pathways, which
strongly depend on α H , highlighting the importance of the
simultaneous determination provided by our setup. Interest-
ingly, this is more obvious for the M⊥ (H) loop. The di-
rectional dependence originates from the symmetry break-
FIG. 5. Hysteresis curves acquired in longitudinal geometry with incoming
s (left graphs) and p (right) polarized light at the indicated angles. Notice that ing introduced by the magnetic anisotropy of the film. Here,
the longitudinal effects, i.e., I , are identical for both polarization conditions, the e.a. behavior is found for α H = 0◦ , where the in-plane
apart from a scale factor due to optical constants, while transversal effects, [100] crystal direction of the Fe film is aligned parallel to
i.e., IAC , are just found for incoming p-polarized light.
the field direction. At this angle, the perfect squared shape
of the M (H) loop, just showing one irreversible sharp tran-
field direction, the magnetic information obtained with both sition, and M⊥ (H) 0 are signatures of an e.a. direction.
polarization conditions seems alike. However, this is clearly A more complex reversal pathway is found for α H = 0◦ .
not true at α H = 27◦ . In this case, similar Kerr rotation ef- In general, M–H loops show one or two irreversible (sharp)
fects are found for both incoming polarization conditions. By and fully reversible (smooth) transitions for both M and M⊥
contrast, the reflectivity changes are just found for incoming components. The irreversible transitions are more relevant
p-polarized while a negligible signal is found for incoming close to the e.a. direction, whereas reversible transitions be-
s-polarized light, as shown in Eq. (11). This indicates that come increasingly important away from it. Similar features
by using s-polarized incoming light it is not possible to de- are found every 90◦ , due to the four-fold crystal symmetry of
termine both magnetization components simultaneously, as s- the Fe(100) film.
polarized light is only sensitive to Kerr rotation effects. While There is a range of angles near the e.a. directions in which
this property is clear from the basic principles of the trans- only one irreversible transition is observed (see M–H loops for
verse Kerr effect, it has additionally been confirmed by ex- α H = 0◦ and 10◦ in Fig. 6). Out of this range, around the h.a.
periment. directions, two consecutive irreversible transitions are found
(see M–H loops for α H = 33◦ in Fig. 6). The critical angle
with respect to the e.a., defined as the angle where only one
V. ANGULAR-DEPENDENT PROPERTIES transition takes place, is αC = 12◦ . Remarkably, for a given
field sweep direction the perpendicular component behaves
The angular-dependent study has been performed as a against and like the field direction during the first and the sec-
function of the in-plane angular rotation α H angle, by us- ond irreversible transitions, respectively. This opposite behav-
ing incoming p-polarized light and keeping fixed the exter- ior arises from the sensitivity of the perpendicular component
nal magnetic field direction, i.e., fixed MOKE geometry. α H to the anisotropy direction, as is shown in the polar represen-
= 0◦ was referred to the in-plane [100] crystal direction of tation of the hysteresis loop.
the Fe(100) film aligned parallel to the field direction. The The quantitative information obtained from our v-MOKE
measurements have been performed at room temperature. setup allows the visualization of the in-plane trajectory of the
The hysteresis loops of the in-plane magnetization compo- magnetization vector during reversal (see bottom graphs of
nents, parallel M and perpendicular M⊥ to the field direction, Fig. 6). In this polar-plot representation, the data lying on
were determined simultaneously for a given α H , as described the circle of radius unity, depicted with a solid line, repre-
above. The whole angular range was probed every 0.9◦ , with sent rotation processes. Every time the data is off this circle,
0.5◦ angular resolution. magnetic domains are present. In this way, the specific mech-
A detailed discussion on the effects of the magnetic sym- anisms of the magnetization reversal are easily elucidated. In
metry on magnetic properties will be reported elsewhere. all the cases, except for e.a., as the field is decreased from
Here, we will show relevant experimental data in order to il- the maximum field (A), the magnetization vector rotates re-
lustrate the capabilities of the setup. versibly along the circle of radius unity. The rotation contin-
ues beyond zero field with the opposite field sense until an
irreversible process is initiated, as indicated by the departure
A. Hysteresis and magnetization reversal processes
of the magnetization vector from that circle (B). Notice that
Representative in-plane resolved hysteresis loops mea- both departure and return points are closed to e.a. directions,
sured with our v-MOKE setup at different α H angles are which accounts for irreversible process due to nucleation of
shown in Fig. 6. The angles have been selected to show the magnetic domains oriented along the e.a. directions and fur-
rich variety of hysteresis and magnetization reversal processes ther domain wall propagation. The return point C is found ca.
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 053904-8 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

FIG. 6. In-plane resolved magnetization hysteresis curves of a 20 nm Fe film grown on MgO(001) acquired at selected angles. Top: Standard-plot M–H
representation. M (H, α H ) and M⊥ (H, α H ) loops are represented by circles and squares, respectively. The descending (forward) and ascending (backward) field
branches are depicted with filled and empty symbols, respectively. The remanences MR, and MR,⊥ and the critical fields HC,1 and HC,2 are indicated. Bottom:
Corresponding polar-plot M⊥ − M representation. Filled and open circle symbols have been used for the forward and the backward branch, respectively. The
circle of radius unity depicted with a solid line indicates the pure rotation of the magnetization vector. The domain wall angles 1 and 2 are indicated. The
letters in the curves denote the sequence of the reversal process as discussed in the text. Solid arrow ended and dashed straight lines indicate the positions of the
e.a. and h.a. directions, respectively.

180◦ or 90◦ away from B, depending on α H . The crossover B. Remanence and magnetic symmetry
between both behaviors is found at αC . For the first case, e.g.,
for α H = 10◦ , after the first irreversible transition the mag- The simplest information that can be extracted from the
netization vector rotates along the circle until the maximum angular evolution is the anisotropy determined by the mag-
field is reached (D). In turn, e.g., for α H = 33◦ , a second irre- netic symmetry of the system. This can be done easily by
versible transition takes place (D), with the return point near plotting the normalized remanence values of the two in-
to the closest e.a. direction (E), which is ca. orthogonal to D. plane magnetization components as a function of α H (see
Thereafter, rotation of magnetization continues until the max- Fig. 7(a)). Both magnetization components display a pro-
imum field is reached (F). Note that the magnetization vector nounced oscillation with periodicity of 90◦ . The parallel com-
is far to be saturated along the field direction even for the ponent follows a |cos 2α H | law dependence, the perpendicu-
largest field used, except for α H = 0◦ . lar component changes the sign when a characteristic e.a. or
Therefore, in a pure fold-fold magnetic symmetry sys- h.a. direction is crossed, and both components are comple-
tem, the reversal proceeds by reversible magnetization rota- mentary, i.e., MS2 = (MR, 2
+ MR,⊥2
). The polar-plots of MR,
tion processes, in order to get the closest e.a. direction, with (Fig. 7(b)) and M⊥,R (Fig. 7(c)) display characteristic “four-
one (two) irreversible transition, related to nucleation of an- leaves clover” and “four-wings windmill” shapes, respec-
tiparallel (orthogonal) magnetic domains and further propaga- tively. This originates from the four-fold magnetic symmetry,
tion of 180◦ (90◦ ) domain walls, when the applied field direc- due to the cubic crystal symmetry of the Fe(100) film. All
tion is close to one of the two easy- (hard-) axis magnetization these features confirm a pure biaxial magnetic anisotropy be-
directions. In addition, the magnetic domains are not oriented havior of the film, where the anisotropy axes are aligned paral-
necessarily parallel to the field direction but rather to the e.a. lel to the in-plane [001] crystallographic directions of the film.
directions. It is worth mentioning that, in the present case for a pure
For a more quantitative analysis, magnetic parameters, biaxial anisotropy system, the information on the magnetic
such as remanence magnetization, coercivity, and domain symmetry does not require the measurement of MR,⊥ (H ).
wall angle, can be readily obtained as a function of α H from However in a magnetic system with competing anisotropies,
the hysteresis loops, as indicated in Fig. 6. the second magnetization component allows for a more

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 053904-9 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

For the data shown in the present study, MR,⊥ (αH )

vanishes progressively when approaching an e.a. direction
from negative angles changing its sign for positive ones,
whereas it suddenly changes around a h.a. direction, as shown
Fig. 7. This dissimilar zero-crossing evolution is therefore
exploited in order to distinguish between easy or hard mag-
netization directions and to evaluate different anisotropy
contributions.19, 22

D. Irreversible transitions and critical fields

Critical fields, i.e., coercive fields, are related with
the effective anisotropy of the system and determine, for
example, the field needed to control the orientation of stable
magnetization directions in spintronic devices. From the
quantitative analysis of the M⊥ − M loops described above,
the smooth reversible transitions are related to rotation of
the magnetization, while sharp transitions correspond to
FIG. 7. (a) Angular dependence of the normalized remanent magnetization nucleation of magnetic domains oriented along a preferential
components of the four-fold crystal symmetry Fe(100) film. Corresponding
direction of magnetization and a further domain wall prop-
polar-plot representation of the parallel (b) and perpendicular (c) component.
The values of MR, (open circle symbols) and MR,⊥ (filled square symbols) agation. The position of sharp irreversible transitions can
have been extracted from the in-plane resolved hysteresis loops, as the ones easily be detected by looking at the M–H curves.
shown in Fig. 6. Both the ranges of angles where two irreversible transitions An irreversible transition results in an abrupt change in
take place during the reversal are marked by shadowed areas.
the M–H loop, i.e., in a large peak in the derivative. For hys-
teresis loop with just one irreversible transition, the critical
precise determination of the symmetry, by locating precisely field is the applied field where the magnetization crosses zero
the characteristic axes, as we have pointed out in precedent (see Figs. 6(a) and 6(b)). In a more general case, where two
studies.6, 19–22 or more irreversible transitions take place, e.g., for biaxial
(Fig. 6(c)) or a more complicated anisotropy symmetry,9, 14, 19
the critical fields are taken at the middle point of the cor-
C. Characteristic axis
responding two stable magnetization states, or more accu-
The identification of the characteristic anisotropy axes is rately at the maximum value of the corresponding numer-
crucial for spintronics applications, since both magnetic and ical derivative curve. On other hand, the hysteresis jumps
transport properties depend on it.26 This is sometimes not a found in both components, and their corresponding derivative
simple task in standard non-vectorial experimental studies, curves, are not necessarily of the same height. For instance,
where only M (H) is measured. By contrast, our v-MOKE when looking only at the M in the top graphs of Fig. 6(c),
setup provides a great accuracy in determining both e.a. and the second transition is significantly smaller than the first.
h.a. directions. In fact, we can precisely locate them by look- The difference is even more pronounced when approaching
ing for the change of sign of the M⊥ (H) loops when a charac- to a h.a. direction. In this case, the corresponding jump in
teristic direction is crossed.6 M⊥ is increasing, allowing a more precise determination of
In general, for most systems the magnetization reversal the angular evolution of critical fields. Obviously, at a given
at the e.a. direction is completely governed by nucleation of angle condition, similar critical field values are derived by
opposite magnetic domains oriented along the field direction looking at M (H) or M⊥ (H) curves measured simultaneously,
and further propagation of domain walls. As expected in thin as shows by the dashed lines depicted in the top graphs of
films, a negligible M⊥ (H) signal is expected when the relative Fig. 6. Note that, the latter could not be the case from non-
areas of magnetic domains and domain walls are compared. simultaneous v-MOKE measurements for some specific range
Close to a hard axis direction, instead, one can expect large of angles with strong angular dependence, due to experimen-
M⊥ signals. This component, moreover, changes sign when tal inaccuracies.
crossing a h.a. direction. Due to experimental uncertainties, Fig. 8 displays the angular dependence of the criti-
both signs contribute near the h.a. and the averaging process cal fields extracted from M–H loops, as the ones shown in
of the measurement procedure results in a net zero signal. As a Fig. 6. HC,1 and HC,2 are the critical field values of the first
consequence, a zero M⊥ signal is a simple indicator for a char- and second irreversible transitions, respectively. In general,
acteristic axis (hard and easy).6, 19–22 Furthermore, if magnetic both angular evolutions display fourfold symmetry, i.e., a be-
anisotropies of different symmetry are present, and result in havior repeated every 90◦ . HC,1 presents the maximum value
non-orthogonal characteristic axis or non-collinear configu- at the e.a. directions, it is roughly constant around them, and
rations, the precise knowledge of the angular position of the it decreases slowly until it reaches its minimum value at the
characteristic axes allows for the determination of the relative h.a. direction. By contrast, HC,2 presents a larger rising evolu-
strength of the contributing anisotropies.19–21 tion as approaching to the h.a. direction, in the angular range
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 053904-10 Jiménez et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 053904 (2014)

performed in order to better develop a basic understanding of

magnetic nanostructures.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the research support services at
UAM, SEGAINVEX, for the development of the detectors
and power supplies, and to gratefully acknowledge the tech-
nical crew of the UAM Condensed Matter Department. P.P.
acknowledges financial support from MINECO through Con-
tract No. JCI-2011-09602. This work has been supported by
FIG. 8. Angular dependence of the critical fields of the four-fold crystal sym-
the MEC through Project No. CSD2007-00010, by MINECO
metry Fe(100) film. HC,1 (solid symbols) and HC,2 (open symbols) are the through Project Nos. FIS2010-18847, MAT2011-25598, and
critical field values of the first and second irreversible transition, respectively. MAT2012-39308, and by the Comunidad de Madrid through
For accuracy reasons, the values of HC,1 are determined from the parallel Project No. S2009/MAT-1726. N.M. acknowledges funding
component, while the values HC,2 are extracted from the perpendicular com-
ponent (see text). Notice that near the easy axes the results coincide in a single
from the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the
value, i.e., single transition by a domain wall of approximately 180◦ , while Project NPOEM No. ANR- 10-NANO-0016.
two transitions are observed around the hard axes (emphasized by the light
gray background).
APPENDIX: REFLECTION COEFFICIENTS
To justify the form of the reflection matrix given in
where the reversal takes place via two consecutive irreversible Eq. (1) we calculated the matrix according to the boundary
transitions. matrix method of Qiu and Bader.4 Within this framework one
Finally, it is worth highlighting the strong influence of multiplies the medium boundary (Ai ) and medium propaga-
the magnetic symmetry on the magnetic properties of the tion matrices (Dj ) to obtain the matrix M defined by
Fe(100) film, and how they are strongly related to each other.  
This can be generalized for other systems with more com-   G H
M = A−1 i
N −1
m=1 Am Dm Am Af ≡ , (A1)
plex magnetic symmetries.6, 17–22, 25, 26 In this case, the biaxial I J
magnetic anisotropy is promoted by the four-fold crystal sym-
metry of the Fe film and determines hysteretic phenomena, where the Fresnel reflection and transmission coefficients are
remanences, critical fields, domain wall angles, and magneti- defined as
   
zation reversal processes. tss tsp rss rsp
−1 −1
G = ; IG = . (A2)
tps tpp rps rpp

VI. CONCLUSION In case of a thin magnetic film of thickness d (the thickness

small compared to the wavelength λ) on top of a semi-infinite
We have presented a detailed description of our autom- sample, the reflection coefficient can be approximated as
atized v-MOKE setup which provides simultaneously and
quantitatively the two in-plane magnetization components 1
rss = n2i cos2 θi − n2f cos2 θf
during the hysteresis loop for a given orientation, allowing (ni cos θi + nf cos θf )2
full angular studies. The in-plane resolved components are
d  
obtained by using incoming p-polarized light through the ac- + 4π i ni cos θi n2m cos2 θm − n2f cos2 θf ,
quisition of polarization rotations and reflectivity changes, at λ
the same time. This is achieved independently of the MOKE 4π d n2f sin θf my + n2m cos θf mz
geometry. This is done by neither moving optical parts nor the rsp = −
λ (ni cos θi + nf cos θf ) (nf cos θi + ni cos θf )
electromagnet, i.e., the setup is completely static.
The capabilities of the v-MOKE are shown with a four- × ni cos θi Q,
fold magnetic symmetry system. From the hysteresis loop the
reversal magnetization processes can be deduced. The simul- 4π d n2f sin θf my − n2m cos θf mz
rps = +
taneous measurement of two in-plane magnetization compo- λ (ni cos θi + nf cos θf ) (nf cos θi + ni cos θf )
nents in combination with the full angular study provides a
precise characterization of the angular-dependent magnetic × ni cos θi Q,
reversal processes and allows the determination of the char- 1  2
acteristic anisotropy axes with great accuracy. The technique rpp = nf cos2 θi − n2i cos2 θf
(nf cos θi + ni cos θf )2
allows the study of the symmetry of the magnetic anisotropy
that strongly influences the magnetic properties including re- d  2 
versal fields, remanence, magnetic stability, magnetization re- − 4π i nm cos2 θf − n2f cos2 θm
λ
versal processes, domain wall angles, and magnetization re- 
versal processes. This suggests that similar studies have to be + n2f sin 2θf mx Q ni cos θi , (A3)
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