Monitoring reversible opto-mechanical control on magnetostrictive microstructures on Liquid Crystalline Networks via XMCD-PEEM

Magnetostrictive materials are essential components in energy-storage devices due to their ability to convert mechanical stress into changes in magnetic properties and vice-versa. However, their operation typically requires bulky components to apply stress through physical contact or to apply a magnetic field. These components consume a significant amount of energy and take up considerable space, which is a major drawback given the prevailing trend toward miniaturization in magnetic electronics. Very recently, opto-mechanical control was shown as an alternative approach that overcomes these limitations, achieving non-contact, field-free and reversible control of the magnetic and electrical properties of a magnetostrictive Fe70Ga30 thin film by exploiting a photo-responsive Liquid Crystalline Network (LCN) as its substrate. Here we propose to further advance the scientific knowledge in this topic by monitoring the light-induced magnetic modifications on patterned heterostructures constituted by combining films with opposite magnetostrictive coefficients (Fe70Ga30 for positive, Ni for negative) via XMCD-PEEM. By illuminating the samples in situ, we plan to observe reversible magnetic domain modulation as a function of light wavelength and illumination time, which would be of huge interest for technological applications.