Magnetic properties of single nanomagnets: Electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism on FePt nanoparticles

Electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD) allows for the quantification of magnetic properties of materials at the nanometer scale. It is shown that with the support of simulations that help to identify the optimal conditions for a successful experiment and upon implementing measurement routines that effectively reduce the noise floor, EMCD measurements can be pushed towards quantitative magnetic measurements even on individual nanoparticles. With this approach, the ratio of orbital to spin magnetic moments for the Fe atoms in a single L10 ordered FePt nanoparticle is determined to be ml/ms=0.08±0.02. This finding is in good quantitative agreement with the results of XMCD ensemble measurements.