Magnetic domains reconfiguration on the Fe3O4(110) surface across the Verwey transition by Spin-Polarized Low-Energy Electron Microscopy

Abstract

We have studied the (110) surface of Fe$_3$O$_4$ single crystals by means of spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy (SPLEEM). After preparation by sputtering and annealing a well defined reconstructed surface was achieved, composed of rows aligned in the [010] direction. By acquiring SPLEEM images along different spin directions the vector magnetization was mapped on the surface, both at room temperature and at a temperature well below the Verwey transition. At room temperature, domains were observed with their magnetization aligned along the two <111> bulk easy axes which are in the (110) surface plane. They presented 180$^\circ$, 71$^\circ$ and 109$^\circ$ Néel-type domain walls. Below the Verwey transition, the magnetization directions changed to regions where the magnetization was oriented along the in-plane [100] and [001] directions. Those observations can be interpreted as the presence of magnetized regions on the surface where the monoclinic $c$ axis is in-plane in the former, and regions where the $c$ is out-of-plane in an oblique direction in the latter. However, the magnetization was at all times within the surface plane, with no out-of-plane component detected.