Abstract

An ultrahigh vacuum chamber that enables the in situ growth of thin films and multilayers by magnetron sputtering techniques is described. Following film preparation, x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements are performed by utilizing an in vacuum electromagnet. XMCD measurements on sputtered thin films of Fe and Co yield spin and orbital moments that are consistent with those obtained previously on films measured in transmission geometry and grown in situ by evaporation methods. Thin films of FeN prepared by reactive sputtering are also examined and reveal an apparent enhancement in the orbital moment for low N content samples. The advantages of producing samples for in situ XAS and XMCD studies by magnetron sputtering are discussed.

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