Laboratory for Condensed Matter (LSC)
in the Photon Science Division
The research focusses on condensed matter and materials science using synchrotron radiation. For this we use the whole range of spectroscopy, imaging and diffraction techniques.
Current Highlights and News
Magnetic vortices come full circle
The first experimental observation of three-dimensional magnetic ‘vortex rings’ provides fundamental insight into intricate nanoscale structures inside bulk magnets, and offers fresh perspectives for magnetic devices.
Single femtosecond laser pulse excitation of individual cobalt nanoparticles
The interaction of light and magnetism at the nanoscale is a topic of fundamental interest and with potential impact to future spintronics applications. in this work we address theoretically and experimentally the effect of femtosecond laser pulse excitation on the magnetic, structural, and chemical stability of individual magnetic cobalt nanoparticles including the role of the substrate or matrix. Eventually, we discuss possible pathways to achieve laser-induced magnetic switching in individual nanostructures.
This work has been highlighted as "Editors' Suggestion" in Physical Review B.
World Record: 7 nm Resolution in Scanning Soft X-ray Microscopy
During the past decade, scientists have put high effort to achieve sub-10 nm resolution in X-ray microscopy. Recent developments in high-resolution lithography-based diffractive optics, combined with the extreme stability and precision of the PolLux and HERMES scanning X-ray microscopes, resulted now in a so far unreached resolution of seven nanometers in scanning soft X-ray microscopy. Utilizing this highly precise microscopy technique with the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism effect, dimensionality effects in an ensemble of interacting magnetic nanoparticles can be revealed.