Magnetic Properties and Microstructure Investigation of FeNi Films With Step-Height by Nano-MOKE

A step-like FeNi film was fabricated by electrodeposition. The cross section morphology and the surface magnetic properties were performed by scanning electron microscopy and nano-MOKE, respectively. The section morphology of the thicker step was presented as a result of columnar structure. The magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) results for every step show the change of surface magnetic properties with the increasing step thickness. Moreover, the coercivity and remanence ratio decrease, accompanying the step thickness increases. Significantly, the magnetization reversal process of a similar three step-like film was simulated by the micromagnetics simulation, and the magnetic moment distribution of the thicker step presents a vortex state during the magnetization reversal process.