A model magnetic thin film with dipolar and exchange interactions

Using Monte Carlo simulation, a model for magnetic thin films with long-range dipolar interactions, short-range exchange interactions and magnetic surface anisotropy is examined for a specific case when the dipolar and exchange interactions are of similar strength. The model has previously been shown to have a reorientation transition both in the absence of an exchange interaction, as well as when the exchange interaction is dominant. The reorientation transition in the absence of an exchange interaction is quite novel and differs in nature from that observed in systems with a dominant ferromagnetic exchange interaction. The intermediate case where the dipolar and exchange interaction are of similar strength has not been well studied. For this range of interactions the lowest energy phases with the magnetic moments perpendicular to the film are stripe phases, which are expected to strongly influence the phase diagram of the system.