Young's Double Slit Interference with Circularly Polarized Soft X-Ray Photons
ORAL
Abstract
We demonstrate a proof-of-concept hybrid spectroscopic-interferometric technique that introduces a novel experimental method to quantify magneto-optical effects. The technique combines x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) with x-ray interferometry, adapting the concept of Young’s double-slit experiment. Specifically, by applying a magnetic thin film over one slit and utilizing XMCD, we demonstrate the capability to determine both the real (β) and the imaginary (δ) parts of the complex magnetic refractive index n (n = 1 - δ + iβ) from the resulting interference fringes. We track the shift of the fringes of the interference pattern that arise from changes in the sample's magnetization. This methodology offers a direct means to probe variations in the magnetic refractive index as a function of the electron spin moment. Our technique, which can act as a magnetometer, significantly optimizes the determination of fundamental magneto-optical parameters using soft x-rays with high sensitivity and simplicity.
*This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) under the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. Work at the ALS, LBNL was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the US DOE (Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231)
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Publication: Wei He, Antoine Islegen-Wojdyla, Alex Ditter, Rourav Basak, Weilun Chao, Nicolas Burdet, Xiaoya Chong, Chaoying Gu, Alex Frañó, Sujoy Roy, Andreas Scholl, David Shapiro, Kenneth Goldberg, "Demonstration of a dual-beam zone plate for phase-contrast coherent soft x-ray imaging," Proc. SPIE 13620, Advances in X-Ray/EUV Sources, Optics, and Components XX, 136200H (18 September 2025); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3063646
Presenters
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Soham Atkar
- Rice University