Application of polarized neutron reflectometry and X-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry for determining the inhomogeneous magnetic structure in Fe/Gd multilayers

The evolution of the magnetic structure of multilayer [Fe (35 A)/Gd (50 A)5] with variation in temperature and an applied magnetic field was determined using a complementary approach combining polarized neutron and X-ray resonant magnetic reflectometry. Self-consistent simultaneous analysis of X-ray and neutron spectra allowed us to determine the elemental and depth profiles in the multilayer structure with unprecedented accuracy, including the identification of an inhomogeneous intralayer magnetic structure with near-atomic resolution.