The magneto-optical properties of Co microsquare-2 m edge-arrays have been investigated for different interelement separations, from 0.2 to 2.0 m. The magneto-optical response is measured both at reflected and diffracted beams, and it is compared with the results of a model that uses micromagnetic simulations and optical diffraction theory to calculate the magneto-optical response for different diffracted spots. A satisfactory agreement between the experiments and the predictions from the combined micromagnetic and optical diffraction models allows the interpretation of the experimental data and provides a way to analyze and understand the physical meaning of the magneto-optic diffracted signal. The comparison of this diffracted magneto-optical experimental data with predictions from simple reversal models allows us to monitor different element magnetization reversal mechanisms as the separation between elements in the array varies.
In this paper, the predictive power of diffracxtive magneto-optics concerning domain structure and reversal mechanisms in ordered arrays of magnetic elements is demonstrated. A simple theoretical model based on Fraunhoffer diffraction theory is used to predict the magnetisation reversal mechanisms in an array of magnetic elements. Different domain structures and simplified models (or educated guesses) of the associated reversal mechanisms produce marked differences in the spatial distributions of the magnetisation. These differences and the associated magnetisation distribution moments are experimentally accessible through conventional and diffractive magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements. The domain and magnetisation reversal predictions are corroborated with Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) measurements.
The fabrication of a periodic domain structure in a ferromagnetic thin film is reported. This periodic domain structure is formed in a thin continuous magnetic film by coupling it to a periodic array of magnetic elements grown on top. When the array and the continuous film are exchange decoupled, magnetostatic interactions produce in the continuous layer a domain structure replica of the topographic pattern at selected field values. The present work reports a direct confirmation of this periodic domain structure in the flat continuous film by Kerr microscopy, which is responsible for the pure magnetooptic diffraction. The effect on the magnetization processes of one-and two-dimensional structures with different periodicities and dimensions is studied in detail and compared with micromagnetic simulations, for Co and Fe films.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.