Fast Magneto-Optic Wide-Field Microscopy with Super-Resolution

• Applicant: Dr. Michael Vogel
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 571878852

The project tackles a fundamental barrier in magneto-optical imaging — the optical diffraction limit — by integrating time-resolved, polarized-light wide-field microscopy with photonic nanojets (PNJs) generated by dielectric microspheres. By harnessing the PNJ’s polarization-conserving properties while forming virtual near-field images of enhanced resolution — and with minimal loss compared to aperture-based near-field methods — we aim to push lateral resolution down to ~50 nm. This will be achieved while preserving picosecond-scale temporal resolution. Applied to gradient ultrathin CoFeB wedge films, the nanojet-enhanced Kerr microscope will directly resolve previously optical non-resolved skyrmionic textures. Under stroboscopic illumination, it will capture Winter magnons as they propagate along domain wall channels, delivering full vectorial insight into how the spin waves interact with their nanoscale confinement.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants