Soft X-Ray Magneto-optical Faraday Effect around Ni M2,3 Edges

We present magneto-optical (MO) Faraday spectra measured around the M2,3 edges (60–70eV) of Ni films at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF). A polarization analysis of the final state of the transmitted radiation from the Ni film is employed to determine the Faraday rotation at the edges. The MO effect becomes resonantly enhanced at the M2,3 edges, and accordingly large values for the rotation angle β of 1.85 ± 0.19° for this ferromagnetic Ni film with thickness of 31 nm are measured. Without the magnetic field, the azimuthal angles do not shift; with parallel and antiparallel magnetic field the rotation angles shift in the opposite way and they are symmetrical. The uncertainty of Faraday rotation angles mainly comes from the data fitting and the state change of the beamline when the angles are measured.