  Imaging the magnetic configuration of thin-films has been a long-standing
area of research. Since a few years, the emergence of two-dimensional
ferromagnetic materials calls for innovation in the field of magnetic imaging.
As the magnetic moments are extremely small, standard techniques like SQUID,
torque magnetometry, magnetic force microscopy and Kerr effect microscopy are
challenging and often lead to the detection of parasitic magnetic contributions
or spurious effects. In this work, we report a new magnetic microscopy
technique based on the combination of magnetic circular dichroism and Seebeck
effect in semiconductor/ferromagnet bilayers. We implement this method with
perpendicularly magnetized (Co/Pt) multilayers sputtered on Ge (111). We
further show that the electrical detection of MCD is more sensitive than the
Kerr magnetometry, especially in the ultra-thin film regime, which makes it
particularly promising for the study of emergent two-dimensional ferromagnetic
materials.

Materials Science