Measurement of the domain widths of a magnetic thin film in an in-plane field

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
When an in‐plane field is imposed upon a magnetic thin film, the domains of one magnetic direction generally grow at the expense of those magnetized in the opposite direction. We describe a simple and sensitive method for measuring the change in domain widths that uses the Faraday rotation produced by the domains on a polarized laser beam. After the in‐plane field is applied, an ac field of frequency, f, is applied normal to the film and the light intensity of the beam, after passing through an analyzer, is detected and displayed on an oscilloscope. The analyzer is adjusted until the display consists only of the second harmonic, 2f. The zero‐order diffraction intensity is then measured as the sample is saturated in one direction by a dc field applied perpendicular to the film plane, and then in the other direction. The difference in the light intensity for the two directions provides a direct determination of the difference in widths of the oppositely magnetized domains in the inplane field.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: