Lorentz transmission electron microscopy of focused ion beam patterned magnetic antidot arrays

A focused-ion beam has been used to pattern magnetic antidot arrays contain ing different sized antidots and spacings in Ni80Fe20 films. Their magnetic domain structure has been studied using Lorentz transmission electron micr oscopy, which has shown that the edges of the antidots pin the domain walls during magnetization reversal. The remanent domain structure was found to depend strongly on the antidot size and spacing, from domains pinned betwee n the corners of adjacent rows of antidots for large sizes to domains pinne d between the edges of adjacent antidots for small sizes. The relevance of such structures for high density recording is discussed. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02445-1].