Materials Physics and Applications DivisionCondensed Matter and Magnet Science, MPA-CMMS

Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy

Roman Movshovich - Capability Leader

Kevin Graham

Capability description:

Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM) is a hybrid between conventional Magnetic Resonance and cantilever-based scanning probes, utilizing an extreme sensitivity of cantilevers to drastically decrease the strength of a detectable signal. Recently, MRFM was used to detect a force signal originating from a single electron spin. It provides three dimensional imaging, excellent spatial resolution, and has been successfully used for detection of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) signals.

Here at LANL, Evgueni Nazaretski and Roman Movshovich in collaboration with MRFM group of Prof. P.C. Hammel at OSU (http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~hammel/) have developed an MRFM apparatus with unique temperature regulation capability between 4 and 250 K and in magnetic fields up to 6 T. The microscope allows 3D scanning in the range of 6x6x6 mm with the nm-scale resolution and the force sensitivity of a few hundred electron spins. Substitution of the MRFM probe with a commercially available MFM cantilever allows low temperature characterization of the static magnetization in the same apparatus.

Schematic of the MRFM/MFM experiment

MFM images of ferromagnetic microstructures acquired at T=5K