Spin and orbital magnetic moment of reconstructed 2 × 2 R45 magnetite(001)

Abstract

The surface of a magnetite single crystal with (001) orientation has been prepared by sputtering/annealing cycles providing the 2×2R45 reconstruction. The distribution of magnetic domains on the surface has been imaged by x-ray magnetic dichroism in a photoemission microscope. The easy axes are along the surface in-plane 110 directions. The near-surface magnetic moment was determined by applying the sum rules to XMCD spectra obtained with different kinetic energies of the secondary electrons. A reduced total moment of 3.3 μB and a ratio of about 0.10 between orbital and spin moment was found, which we attribute to the surface reconstruction.