Soft x-ray resonant magnetic powder diffraction on PrNiO3

We report on the first soft x-ray resonant powder diffraction experiments performed at the Ni L-2,L-3 edges of PrNiO3. The temperature, polarization and energy dependence of the (1/2 0 1/2) reflection indicates a magnetic origin for the signal. This experiment demonstrates that x-ray resonant magnetic powder diffraction can be relatively easily performed in the soft x-ray regime due to the very large enhancement factors at the absorption edges. Such experiments allow us to extract important information on the electronic states of the d shell. Similar results can be anticipated from orbital reflections measured in a powder.