X-ray magnetic linear dichroism in absorption at the L edge of metallic Co, Fe, Cr, and V

It is demonstrated that x-ray magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) in absorption spectroscopy is a viable technique for element-specific magnetic characterization of metallic thin films and multilayers. XMLD is measured at the Fe, Co, Cr, and V L2,3 edges, and varies from 1--11% of the edge jump in the absorption coefficient, with a magnitude that scales with the square of the magnetic moment. The XMLD spectra show satisfactory agreement with first principles calculations of this effect.