Development and preliminary performance test of a soft X-ray ellipsometer

Imazono, Takashi; Suzuki, Yoji; Sano, Kazuo*; Koike, Masato

In magnetic science such as magnetic circular dichroism measurement, core electrons are excited by polarized soft X-ray. Experimenters using polarized soft X-rays as the incident light need the information on its polarization state, so that it is useful for them to evaluate it in advance. In the energy range from 0.7 to 0.9 keV, which is in the vicinity of the absorption edges of 3 transition metals, it makes impossible to perform the polarization measurement. It is because existing polarizing elements are unusable in this energy region. In order to develop new polarizing elements and evaluate the polarization state, an apparatus for soft X-ray ellipsometry based on the rotating-analyzer method has been designed and installed to the SR Center of Ritsumeikan University. We discuss the specification and the result of the preliminary performance test of this apparatus.