Brillouin light scattering intensities for patterned magnetic thin films

The strength of the Brillouin light scattered (BLS) signal has been calcula ted for a patterned array of magnetic stripes or magnetic dots relative to the strength of the BLS signal expected from an unpatterned film of the sam e material and thickness. It is assumed that the stripes or dots are magnet ically saturated and that magnetic dipole interactions between the elements in an array can be neglected. It is concluded that the patterned films sho uld exhibit BLS signals that are nearly as intense as those observed for an unpatterned him provided that the films are thin enough so that the magnet ization profile is sensibly constant across the film thickness, and provide d that the magnetic properties of each element in the array are sufficientl y the same so that the low-lying spin waves have the same frequencies in ea ch element. Moreover. the BLS signal intensities are predicted to be insens itive to the degree of spin pinning at the edges of the wires or dots. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.