Horizontal Incidence Observation of Magnetic Field by Scanning Electron Microscope

A method for observing magnetic fields is proposed, in which a primary electron beam is directed parallel to the specimen surface. The leakage magnetic field due to recorded magnetization patterns is observed as a secondary electron image using a scanning electron microscope. The secondary electron image consists of different quantities of secondary electrons, depending on whether the primary electron beam is deflected to impinge on the specimen or not as a result of the horizontal component of the leakage magnetic field. Secondary electron images obtained for perpendicular recording and for longitudinal recording are presented. Recording lengths as short as two microns can be resolved by this method.