Scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA) and ph
oton-excited spin polarized secondary electron spectroscopy have been
used to study respectively the lateral variations and depth profiles o
f the surface magnetic microstructure of as-cast amorphous melt-spun F
e80B20 ribbons. The 5 mu m resolution SEMPA images showed very similar
complex domain patterns for both remanent and field-on states, and sp
ot mode hysteresis loops showed significant differences across the sam
ple. These data are consistent with a very wide distribution of strain
-induced anisotropy fields. Energy resolved hysteresis loops (ERHL) me
asured using photoemitted 1 and 20 eV secondary electrons showed clear
differences in form, attributable to changes in probing depth. A unid
irectional anisotropy found in the 20 eV ERHL is linked tentatively to
the inhomogeneities revealed by SEMPA. (C) 1997 American Institute of
Physics.