Structural and magnetic properties of the Fe$$_{3}$$O$$_{4}$$ (110) surface

Abstract

Abstract We have studied the (110) surface of Fe $$_{3}$$ O $$_{4}$$ single crystals by means of X-ray Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) and Low-Energy Electron Microscopy (LEEM) to characterize its structural and magnetic properties. After sputtering and annealing a well defined surface was achieved. This preparation method resulted in a one-dimensional reconstruction formed by rows aligned in the [001] direction. By acquiring X-ray magnetic circular dichroism PEEM images at various azimuthal angles, the vector magnetization map of the (110) surface was obtained. Domains were observed with their magnetization aligned along the two $$\langle 111\rangle$$ type bulk easy axes which are in the (110) surface plane, featuring 180 $$^{\circ }$$ , 109 $$^{\circ }$$ , and 71 $$^{\circ }$$ domain walls. The domain walls are of Néel type. Using the sum rules we estimated an iron spin and orbital magnetic moment of 3.4  $$\mu _B$$ and 0.6  $$\mu _B$$ respectively for the reconstructed surface. At the oxygen K edge we observe dichroic contrast of close to 1%, which is reversed relative of the contrast detected from octahedral iron in the L $$_3$$ edge.