Direct Imaging Spin Detector

The direct imaging (DI) spin detector is a device for simultaneous detection of the electron emission angle (thus k-vector) and spin polarization in one direction in a photoemission experiment. The spin filtering device is a heavy metal single crystal of a specific orientation, e.g. Ir(100), acting as a scattering target.

An electron optical system inside the detection system displays the angular/k-space resolved image on the scattering target and a filtered image, still in angular/k-space resolved dimensions, is detected. Due to the spin filtering effect the intensity of the electron events is altered selectively by the spin. The switch between majority and minority spin states is realized by an integrated spin rotator lens.

The detection system is an add-on to the existing SPECS momentum microscopes. The detector consist of two detection branches, one spin integarted channel and one spin resolved channel in appropriate geometry. The scattering target is supported on a preparation stage for conditioning inside an integrated preparation stage. high temperature flashing and oxygen annealing is available as well as an optional gold evaporator for the preparation of a gold cover for the spin filter crystal.