Prospect for detecting magnetism of a single impurity atom using electron magnetic chiral dichroism

Abstract

Dopants, even single atoms, can influence the electrical and magnetic properties of materials. Here we demonstrate the opportunity for detecting the magnetic response of an embedded magnetic impurity in a nonmagnetic host material. We combine a depth sectioning approach with electron magnetic circular dichroism in scanning transmission electron microscopy to compute the depth-resolved magnetic inelastic-scattering cross section of single Co impurity buried in the host crystal of GaAs. Our calculations suggest that the magnetic dichroic signal intensity is sensitive to the depth and lateral position of the electron probe relative to the magnetic impurity. Additionally, a more precise dichroic signal localization can be achieved via choosing higher-collection-angle (β) apertures. Quantitative evaluation of the inelastic-scattering cross section and signal-to-noise ratio indicates that the magnetic signal from a single Co atom is on the verge of being detectable with today's state-of-the-art instrumentation.