COMBINED KERR- MAGNETIC FORCE MICROSCOPY ON NDFEB CRYSTALS OF DIFFERENT CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ORIENTATION/

Magnetic force microscopy images of NdFeB crystals of different crysta llographic orientation are directly compared with magneto-optical Kerr images. This comparison facilitates the analysis of contrast mechanis ms in the MFM images. Different contributions to the contrast arise fr om the Zeeman interaction energy between (unperturbed) tip and sample on the one hand and the mutual reaction of their magnetizations to the stray fields. These contributions are separated by forming sum and di fference images from pictures taken with opposite tip magnetization. T his technique yields complementary images of the surface charge patter n of the sample and its local susceptibility. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights reserved.