Honeycomb domain structures in amorphous TbFe thin films

The magnetic properties and domain structure of amorphous TbFe thin films w ere studied by magnetic measurement and magnetic force microscope. Honeycom b domain structures were found in the as-deposited amorphous film. The doma in structures were composed of many small white round dots embedded in the black matrix, which formed an irregular hexagonal pattern with some deforma tion. The average dot size was about 450 nm, with an average separation of 610 nm. The derived domain wall energy density gamma and the exchange const ant A were 0.95x10(-2) and 1.79x10(-11) J/m, respectively. (C) 2001 America n Institute of Physics.