A femtosecond magnetic circular dichroism spectrometer

Jake Sutcliffe, J Olof Johansson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We describe the development of a broadband magneto-optical spectrometer with femtosecond temporal resolution. The absorption spectrometer is based on a white-light supercontinuum (∼320 to 750 nm) using shot-to-shot temporal and spectral referencing at 1 kHz. Static and transient absorption spectra using circularly polarized light are collected in a magnetic field. The difference spectra with respect to the external field direction give the static and transient magneto-optical Faraday rotation (magnetic optical rotary dispersion) and ellipticity (magnetic circular dichroism) spectra. An achromatic quarter-wave plate is used, and the impact of the deviation from ideal retardance on the spectra is discussed. Results from solution-based and thin-film samples are used to demonstrate the performance and wide applicability of the instrument. The sensitivities for the static and time-resolved data were found to be 5 and 0.4 mdeg, respectively. The method presents a simple way to measure magneto-optical spectra using a transient absorption spectrometer and an electromagnet.
Original languageEnglish
Article number113001
JournalReview of Scientific Instruments
Volume92
Early online date8 Nov 2021
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 8 Nov 2021

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A femtosecond magnetic circular dichroism spectrometer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this