A magnetic force microscopy analysis of soft thin film elements

Several different soft magnetic materials have been investigated by means of Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) using commercial Atomic Force Microscope (Nanoscope III) with slope detection. The observed contrast of basically solenoidal magnetization distributions in nanocrystalline Fe-Permalloy multilayer and single-layer Permalloy thin film elements not only reveals wall locations, and thus the subdivision of the magnetic volume into domains, but also a decomposition into subdomains hitherto undocumented. A strong influence of roughness on the magnetic fine structure is also demonstrated. Additional observations of the classical lancets of Goss texture in bulk Iron confirm the fact that the symmetries of the observed contrast are consistent with those of pendicular component of magnetization within a volume close to the sample surface