  Understanding the ramifications of reduced crystalline symmetry on magnetic
behavior is a critical step in improving our understanding of nanoscale and
interfacial magnetism. However, investigations of such effects are often
controversial largely due to the challenges inherent in directly correlating
nanoscale stoichiometry and structure to magnetic behavior. Here, we describe
how to use Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) to obtain Electron Magnetic
Circular Dichroism (EMCD) signals as a function of scattering angle to locally
probe the magnetic behavior of thin oxide layers grown on an Fe (1 1 0)
surface. Experiments and simulations both reveal a strong dependence of the
magnetic orbital to spin ratio on its scattering vector in reciprocal space. We
exploit this variation to extract the magnetic properties of the oxide cladding
layer, showing that it locally may exhibit an enhanced orbital to spin moment
ratio. This finding is supported here by both spatially and angularly resolved
EMCD measurements, opening up the way for compelling investigations into how
magnetic properties are affected by nanoscale features.
