Spin-dependent elastic scattering of electrons from a ferromagnetic glass, Ni40Fe40B20

The dependence of the elastic scattering of electrons on the relative direction of the spin of the incident electron with respect to the magnetization of the ferromagnetic glass Ni40Fe40B20 was measured at various energies, angles, and temperatures. We show that this scattering is liquidlike, i.e., effects of crystal diffraction are negligible. Also, multiple scattering of electrons contributes less than 30% to the intensity in the backward scattering direction. Under these conditions, and with correction for electron attenuation, the scattering is atomlike. This yields a first insight into the spin dependence of electron scattering from single magnetic atoms in a metallic environment. The surface magnetization was found to decrease with temperature with the same power law as the bulk magnetization at low temperature in agreement with theoretical predictions by Mills and Maradudin