RESUMEN
We performed neutron imaging of ferromagnetic transitions in Ni3Al and HgCr2Se4 crystals. These neutron depolarization measurements revealed bulk magnetic inhomogeneities in the ferromagnetic transition temperature with spatial resolution of about 100 µm. To obtain such spatial resolution, we employed a novel neutron microscope equipped with Wolter mirrors as a neutron image-forming lens and a focusing neutron guide as a neutron condenser lens. The images of Ni3Al show that the sample does not homogeneously go through the ferromagnetic transition; the improved resolution allowed us to identify a distribution of small grains with slightly off-stoichiometric composition. Additionally, neutron depolarization imaging experiments on the chrome spinel, HgCr2Se4, under pressures up to 15 kbar highlight the advantages of the new technique especially for small samples or sample environments with restricted sample space. The improved spatial resolution enables one to observe domain formation in the sample while decreasing the acquisition time despite having a bulky pressure cell in the beam.
RESUMEN
We describe the design of a low temperature scanning Hall probe microscope (SHPM) for a dilution refrigerator system. A detachable SHPM head with 25.4 mm OD and 200 mm length is integrated at the end of the mixing chamber base plate of the dilution refrigerator insert (Oxford Instruments, Kelvinox MX-400) by means of a dedicated docking station. It is also possible to use this detachable SHPM head with a variable temperature insert (VTI) for 2 K-300 K operations. A microfabricated 1µm size Hall sensor (GaAs/AlGaAs) with integrated scanning tunneling microscopy tip was used for magnetic imaging. The field sensitivity of the Hall sensor was better than 1 mG/âHz at 1 kHz bandwidth at 4 K. Both the domain structure and topography of LiHoF4, which is a transverse-field Ising model ferromagnet which orders below TC = 1.53 K, were imaged simultaneously below 40 mK.