J. Wittborn et al., Magnetic domain and domain-wall imaging of submicron Co dots by probing the magnetostrictive response using atomic force microscopy, APPL PHYS L, 76(20), 2000, pp. 2931-2933
An approach to image the domains and domain walls of small ferromagnetic en
tities using atomic force microscopy (AFM), with a nonmagnetic AFM probe, h
as been developed. Exciting the sample in an external ac magnetic field, th
e distribution of magnetostrictive response at the surface is detected. By
this technique, the domains and domain walls of submicron Co dots have been
imaged with a 1 nm lateral resolution. In elliptical Co dots with a 350-nm
-long axis on a triangular lattice array with 400 nm periodicity, we find e
vidence for two domains with opposite magnetization orientation across a wa
ll. The domain-wall width in these dots is found to be about 35 nm. Further
more, we observe a ferromagnetic alignment of the domains in the neighborin
g dots, which suggests a magnetostatic interaction among the dots. (C) 2000
American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02020-9].