Quantitative analysis of magnetization reversal in patterned strip wire by magnetic force microscopy

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) was used to investigate the magnetization reversal process in a patterned strip wire of permalloy thin film. The magnitude of the phase-shift of tapping mode MFM changed with the varying interactive magnetic force between the magnetic tip and the sample. By analyzing the change in values of the phase-shift. the behaviors of magnetization reversal of different local regions in a patterned strip wire can be quantitatively analyzed. The intensity of the phase-shift in the wider end is stronger than that in the narrower one. In contrast, due to a strong anisotropic effect. the coercive force in the narrower end (9 Oe) is larger than that ill the wider one (8 Oe). Therefore, the H-c in the neck section could become strongly affected by the competition of the head-to-tail magnetic configurations in the two parts of the strip wire, and this results in a small H-c in the neck section. In addition, in a simple neck shape connection in a strip NiFe wire, a single domain configuration can be easily changed to a two single domain magnetic configuration. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.