Cobalt antidot arrays on membranes: Fabrication and investigation with transmission X-ray microscopy

We have developed a method to fabricate ferromagnetic antidot arrays on silicon nitride membrane substrates for electron or soft X-ray microscopy with antidot periods ranging from 2 mu m down to 200 nm. Observations of cobalt antidot arrays with magnetic soft X-ray microscopy show that for large periods, flux closure states occur between the antidots in the as-grown state and on application of a magnetic field, domain chains are created which show a spin configuration at the chain ends comprising four 90 degrees walls. Pinning of the domain chain ends plays an important role in the magnetization reversal, determining the length of the chains and resulting in preservation of the domain chain configuration on reducing of the applied magnetic field to zero. (C) 2007 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.