Soft x-ray polarizer for optical productions of any orthogonal state of the linear and circular polarization modes

Abstract

An efficient soft x-ray polarizer that is able to optically convert a linear polarization state to any orthogonal state of not only linear but also circular polarization modes is found by means of numerical calculations of the intensities of individual orthogonal polarization components in reflected waves. Calculation results, using the known linear-polarization-mode based Kerr matrix as well as a newly derived circular-polarization-mode based Kerr matrix, indicate that a +45° or −45° linearly polarized incident wave can be readily converted to any orthogonal states of both circular and linear polarization modes, i.e., left- and right-handed circular and s- and p-linear polarizations through reflection, at certain grazing angles of incidence near the critical angle from a simple ferromagnetic thin film of Co(9.0nm)∕Si substrate. The intensities of almost pure circularly or linearly polarized reflected waves are about 10% or less in a certain spectral soft x-ray range just below the absorption edges of constituent magnetic elements. The counterpart orthogonal states of the linear as well as circular modes can be rapidly switched simply by reversing oppositely the orientation of longitudinal magnetizations. These results suggest that the orthogonal polarization states of the circular- and linear-polarization modes converted from such a polarizing optical element through reflection can be practically used in probing the vector quantities of element specific magnetizations in multicomponent magnetic materials.