Advanced data analysis procedure for hard x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity discussed for Pt thin film samples of various complexity

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Krieft, Jan, Graulich, Dominik, Moskaltsova, Anastasiia, Bouchenoire, Laurence, Francoual, Sonia, Kuschel, Timo
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 17.04.2020
• Subjects: Algorithms; Complexity; Computer simulation; Data analysis; Goodness of fit; Iterative methods; Multilayers; Optimization; Physics - Materials Science; Reflectance; Software; Software development tools; Thin films
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2004.08215

X-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) is a powerful method to determine the optical, structural and magnetic depth profiles of a variety of thin films. Here, we investigate samples of different complexity all measured at the Pt L\(_3\) absorption edge to determine the optimal procedure for the analysis of the experimental XRMR curves, especially for nontrivial bi- and multilayer samples that include differently bonded Pt from layer to layer. The software tool ReMagX is used to fit these data and model the magnetooptic depth profiles based on a highly adaptable layer stack which is modified to be a more precise and physically consistent representation of the real multilayer system. Various fitting algorithms, iterative optimization approaches and a detailed analysis of the asymmetry ratio features as well as \(\chi^2\) (goodness of fit) landscapes are utilized to improve the agreement between measurements and simulations. We present a step-by-step analysis procedure tailored to the Pt thin film systems to take advantage of the excellent magnetic sensitivity and depth resolution of XRMR.