Measuring The Effects Of Low Energy Ion Milling On The Magnetization Of Co/Pd Multilayers Using Scanning Electron Microscopy With Polarization Analysis

The dependence of the magnetization profile of Co/Pd multilayer films with very thin individual layers, Co (0.4 nm)/Pd (0.6 nm), on the energy of ion milling is investigated using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA). The effect of Ar ion milling on the Co/Pd magnetization angle distribution is compared for ion milling at 50 eV, 1 keV, and 2 keV. We find that 1 and 2 keV Ar ion milling causes a measurable change in the out-of-plane magnetization angle distribution as material is removed, but ion milling with 50 eV Ar ions does not significantly alter the magnetization. This enables quantitative imaging of all three vector components of the surface magnetization of the Co/Pd multilayer films with 20 nm lateral spatial resolution using SEMPA. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3358218]