Thin Film, Near-Surface and Multi-Layer Investigations by Low-Energy μ +SR
Prokscha, T. ; Morenzoni, E. ; Suter, A. ; Khasanov, R. ; Luetkens, H. ; Eshchenko, D. ; Garifianov, N. ; Forgan, E. ; Keller, H. ; Litterst, J. ; Niedermayer, C. ; Nieuwenhuys, G.
In: Hyperfine Interactions, 2004, vol. 159, no. 1-4, p. 227-234
Ajouter à la liste personnelle- Summary
- At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Villigen, Switzerland) the beam of low-energy positive polarised muons (LE-μ +) with tunable energy between 0.5 and 30keV allows the extension of the muon-spin-rotation technique (μSR) to studies on thin films and multi-layers (LE-μ +SR). The range of these muons in solids covers the near-surface region up to implantation depths of about 300nm. As a sensitive local magnetic probe with a complementary observational time window to other techniques LE-μ +SR offers the unique possibility to gain new insights in these nano-scale objects. After outlining the current status of the LE-μ + beam line we demonstrate the potential of this new technique by presenting the results of recent experiments: i) the direct observation of non-local effects in a superconducting Pb film, ii) the oxygen isotope effect on the in-plane penetration depth in optimally doped $${\text{YBa}}_{2} {\text{Cu}}_{3} {\text{O}}_{{7 - \delta }} $$ , and iii) the first observation of the conduction electron spin polarisation in the Ag spacer of a Fe/Ag/Fe tri-layer