MAGNETIC-MOMENTS IN A GADOLINIUM IRON-GARNET STUDIED BY SOFT-X-RAY MAGNETIC CIRCULAR-DICHROISM

The magnetic moments of Gd and Fe in gadolinium iron garnet (Gd3Fe5O12) were probed at 77 and 300 K by soft-X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (SXMCD) measurements at the GdM4,5 and at the FeL2,3 absorption edges. The SXMCD signal at each edge allows one to independently determine the magnetic ordering for each specific ion, and the temperature dependence confirms that the reversal of the macroscopic magnetization is due to the reversal of each local magnetic moment of the Fe and the Gd atoms when the compensation point (T(comp) = 288 K) is crossed. This work therefore demonstrates that SXMCD can probe element and site specific magnetic properties of multi-component systems.