The domain structures of hard magnetic phases

In this article, hard magnetic intermetallic phases of rare earth and trans ition metals are classified either as uniaxial or non-uniaxial magnets depe nding upon their particular domain structures made visible in polarised lig ht using the magneto-optical Kerr-Effect. Using quantitative image analysis software programs, the size and contrast of the domains in different uniax ial materials are determined. This reveals a correlation between the values determined by optical light microscopy and the intrinsic magnetic properti es of the respective phases.