Domain imaging in magnetic garnets using tunneling-stabilized magnetic force microscopy

Magnetic domains in low-coercivity magnetic garnets have been imaged using tunneling-stabilized magnetic force microscopy (TSMFM). In TSMFM, a triangular, Au-coated, thin-film, Ni-spring tunneling tip flexes in response to the sample´s fringing magnetic field as the tip is scanned across the Au-coated garnet sample. The magnetic garnet is an epitaxial YGdTmGa/YSmTmGa film, grown on a nonmagnetic Gd₃Ga ₅O₁₂ (GGG) substrate, with a zero-field stripe width of 2.2 μm. The Ni tip does not appear to disturb the garnet´s domain structure despite the garnet´s low coercivity, nor does the magnetization from the garnet appear to disturb the Ni tip. The shape and period of the contrast observed with TSMFM are consistent with magnetic domain patterns measured using ferrofluid decoration and magnetooptic Faraday-effect imaging