The vortex state, characterized by a curling magnetization, is one of the equilibrium configurations of soft magnetic materials and occurs in thin ferromagnetic square and disk-shaped elements of micrometre size and below. The interplay between the magnetostatic and the exchange energy favours an in-plane, closed flux domain structure. This curling magnetization turns out of the plane at the centre of the vortex structure, in an area with a radius of about 10 nanometres--the vortex core. The vortex state has a specific excitation mode: the in-plane gyration of the vortex structure about its equilibrium position. The sense of gyration is determined by the vortex core polarization. Here we report on the controlled manipulation of the vortex core polarization by excitation with small bursts of an alternating magnetic field. The vortex motion was imaged by time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. We demonstrate that the sense of gyration of the vortex structure can be reversed by applying short bursts of the sinusoidal excitation field with amplitude of about 1.5 mT. This reversal unambiguously indicates a switching of the out-of-plane core polarization. The observed switching mechanism, which can be understood in the framework of micromagnetic theory, gives insights into basic magnetization dynamics and their possible application in data storage.

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Microbolometers are modified by metallic resonant absorber elements, leading to an enhanced responsivity at selectable wavelengths. The dissipative energy absorption of tailored metamaterials allows for engineering the response of conventional bolometer microbridges. The absorption peak position and height are determined by the geometry of the metamaterial. Square-shaped metal/dielectric/metal stacks as absorber elements show spectral resonances at wavelengths between 4.8 and 7.0 microm in accordance with numerical simulations. Total peak absorptions of 0.8 are obtained. The metamaterial modified bolometers are suitable for multispectral thermal imaging systems in the mid-IR and terahertz regime.

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Fast magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic elements on sub-micron length scales is currently attracting substantial scientific interest. Studying the ferromagnetic eigenmodes in such systems provides valuable information in order to trace back the dynamical response to the underlying micromagnetic properties. The inherent time structure of third generation synchrotron sources allows for time-resolved imaging (time resolution: 70–100 ps) of magnetization dynamics at soft x-ray microscopes (lateral resolution down to 20 nm). Stroboscopic pump-and-probe experiments were performed on micron-sized Permalloy samples at a full-field magnetic transmission x-ray microscope (XM-1, beamline 6.1.2) at the ALS at Berkeley, CA. Complementary to these time-domain experiments a frequency-domain “spatially resolved ferromagnetic resonance” (SR-FMR) technique was applied to magnetic x-ray microscopy. In contrast to time-domain measurements which reflect a broadband excitation of the magnetization, the frequency-domain SR-FMR technique allows for detailed studies of specific ferromagnetic eigenmodes. First SR-FMR experiments at a scanning x-ray transmission microscope (STXM, ALS, BL 11.0.2) are reported. The sample, a 1×1μm2 Permalloy pattern, was excited by an alternating magnetic field with a frequency of 250 MHz. By varying the phase relation between the sine excitation and the x-ray flashes of the synchrotron, the dynamics of a vortex motion eigenmode was investigated in time and space.