Fe L-2,L-3 linear and circular magnetic dichroism of Fe3O4

Measurements of circular and linear magnetic dichroism at the Fe 2p edges of Fe3O4 are presented. The dichroism results from the ferrimagnetic ordering of Fe d(5) and d(6) ions in octahedral and tetrahedral sites. Atomic calculations taking into account the different crystal fields have been fitted to all L-edge spectra of this compound, A chemical shift of 1.5 eV between the dominant L-3 peak of the octahedral Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions gives the best fit of linear and circular dichroism. We investigate whether these parameters can be transferred to predict the Fe 2p dichroism in other ferrites, (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.