STRESS DEPENDENCE OF COERCIVITY IN NI FILMS - THIN-FILM TO BULK TRANSITION

The effect of uniaxial mechanical stress on the magnetic properties of electroplated Ni films was measured with a magneto-optical Kerr loop tracer. We show that the effect of stress on the coercive force is com pletely different for thin (20 nm) and thick (10 mu m) films. The latt er behaves like bulk Ni, whereas results on lower thicknesses show a c ontinuous transition from thin film to bulklike behavior. The results are discussed by assuming different micromagnetic reversal processes f or the two extremes: rotational for thin film and domain wall movement for bulk. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.