Spin and Energy Analyzed Secondary Electron Emission from a Ferromagnet

Measurements are presented of the energy dependence of the spin polarization of low-energy (0.5-25 eV) secondary electrons when a 500-eV primary beam is incident on an iron-based ferromagnetic glass. The polarization of the lowest-energy electrons is found to correspond to the net valence-band spin density. Possible causes for the observed decrease in polarization with increasing secondary energy are discussed. The results demonstrate a mechanism for measuring surface magnetic structure with the very high spatial resolution of scanning electron microscopy.