Temperature dependence of the Ho L₂-edge XMCD spectra of Ho₆Fe₂₃

An X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) study performed at the Ho L_2,3-edges in Ho₆Fe₂₃ as a function of temperature is presented. It is demonstrated that the anomalous temperature dependence of the Ho L₂-edge XMCD signal is due to the magnetic contribution of Fe atoms. By contrast, the Ho L₃-edge XMCD directly reflects the temperature dependence of the Ho magnetic moment. By combining the XMCD at both Ho L₂- and L₃-edges, the possibility of determining the temperature dependence of the Fe magnetic moment is demonstrated. Then, both μ_Ho(T) and μ_Fe(T) have been determined by tuning only the absorption L-edges of Ho. This result opens new possibilities of applying XMCD at these absorption edges to obtain quantitative element-specific magnetic information that is not directly obtained by other experimental tools.