Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten
DS 6: Thin Oxides and Oxide Layers
DS 6.1: Invited Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 09:30–10:00, REC/C213
Soft X-ray Microscopy of Ferroic Thin Films — •Tim A. Butcher1, Simone Finizio2, Michael Schneider1, Jörg Raabe2, Stefan Eisebitt1, and Bastian Pfau1 — 1Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, 12489 Berlin, Germany — 2Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
Any technological advance involving ferroic thin films requires a clear picture of their domain structures at the nanoscale. These can be studied by soft X-ray microscopy at synchrotron lights sources, which combines high spatial resolution with sensitivity to ferroic order. This presentation will provide an overview of several ferroic thin films and the application of coherent diffractive imaging methods such as Fourier Transform Holography and soft X-ray ptychography to their study [1]. One example is the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO3 for which ptychography can probe the magnetoelectric coupling by resolving both the antiferromagnetic spin cycloid and the ferroelectric domains in a single measurement [2,3]. Furthermore, an example of imaging dynamics will be provided with the ptychographic investigation of magnetic domain walls [4].
[1] T. A. Butcher et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 96, 123704 (2025) [2] T. A. Butcher et al., Adv. Mater. 36 (2024) [3] T. A. Butcher et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. 23, L011002 (2025) [4] T. A. Butcher et al., Phys. Rev. B 111, L220409 (2025)
Keywords: X-ray Microscopy; Multiferroics; Freestanding Thin Films; Ptychography; Ferroelectrics