THE INFLUENCE OF EXPERIMENTAL PARAMETERS ON CONTRAST FORMATION IN MAGNETIC FORCE MICROSCOPY

Remanent magnetization M(r) and coercivity H-c are important parameter s of magnetic thin film discs. A matrix of different values of M(r) an d H-c is investigated in order to study the influence of these paramet ers on the magnetic force microscopy (MFM) signal. MFM images of high- density bit structures in longitudinal storage media show several unex pected features, such as improved image contrast of structures of a ce rtain bit length, depending upon the tip-sample separation. These effe cts are not affected by remanent magnetization and coercivity. A simpl e model for magnetic contrast formation is introduced. The influence o f tip-sample separation, tip shape and tilt angle on the imaging of bi t structures is demonstrated. Several bit structures are imaged by MFM . The images are compared with the results of the theoretical approach .