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DOE OSTI · 2572793

Fresnel diffraction imaging of surface nanostructure using coherent resonant x-ray scattering

Burgard, L. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0009000330020395)·Neupane, C. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000192353644)·Balodhi, A. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000290496382)·Bista, S. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)]·Butun, S. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000163499185)·Jangid, R. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)]·Barbour, A. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)]·Basit, N. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)] (ORCID:000000028473708X)·Agterberg, D. F. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000301781374)·Weinert, M. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000222632960)·Mazzoli, C. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)] (ORCID:0000000197741507)·Kim, M. G. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:000000017676454X)
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Abstract

We investigated surface nanostructures on an antiferromagnet MnBi 2 Te 4 using a novel imaging technique, direct (real)-space and real time coherent x-ray imaging (direct-CXI). This technique has provided new insights into antiferromagnetic textures, including the formation of anti-phase antiferromagnetic (AFM) domains and thermal dynamics of AFM domains and domain walls. While this method produces real-space images of AFM textures without requiring a complex imaging retrieval process, its underlying imaging mechanism has not been fully understood, limiting a deep understanding of AFM textures and the information they contain. By investigating the well-defined structural characteristics of the nanostructures fabricated on MnBi 2 Te 4 ⁠, we elucidate the imaging principle of this novel technique. We find that the observed images can be well explained by the Fresnel diffraction integral. Using a simple model from classical optics, our calculations successfully reproduce the experimentally observed images of the nanostructures. This demonstrates that direct-CXI not only provides straightforward real-space imaging but also contains phase information through its Fresnel diffraction integral.

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCEFresnel diffractionNanostructuresX-ray imagingX-ray scattering

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Burgard, L. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0009000330020395), Neupane, C. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000192353644), Balodhi, A. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000290496382), Bista, S. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)], Butun, S. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000163499185), Jangid, R. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)], Barbour, A. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)], Basit, N. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)] (ORCID:000000028473708X), Agterberg, D. F. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000301781374), Weinert, M. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:0000000222632960), Mazzoli, C. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)] (ORCID:0000000197741507), Kim, M. G. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)] (ORCID:000000017676454X). 2025-07-01. Fresnel diffraction imaging of surface nanostructure using coherent resonant x-ray scattering. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273192

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