Comparison of conventional and Lorentz transmission electron microscopy in magnetic imaging of permanent magnets

Abstract

Magnetization structures in magnetic materials are usually imaged in dedicated Lorentz transmission electron microscopes. Compared to conventional transmission electron microscopes, the magnetic field of the objective lens at the sample is removed by replacing the objective lens with a Lorentz lens below the sample. While this modification is critical for soft-magnetic materials whose magnetic state is affected by the strong magnetic field of the objective lens, we propose that this is not necessary for permanent magnets such as Sm–Co and Nd–Fe–B. Conventional and Lorentz microscopes are compared for imaging divergent and convergent domain walls in a Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)7.7 magnet. Both techniques provide an almost identical resolution and accuracy in the measurement of the domain-wall width parameter using focal-series imaging of divergent domain walls. It is further demonstrated that both techniques can be utilized to analyze the intensity profile of convergent domain walls. From this, the product of sample thickness and magnetic induction is extracted. These results illustrate that conventional microscopes can be used to image the magnetic state of permanent magnets with a resolution comparable to dedicated Lorentz microscopes, which make magnetic imaging experiments significantly more accessible to a wider scientific community.