Preisach modeling of aftereffect in a magneto-optical medium with perpendicular magnetization

The aftereffect of Co/Pt multilayer films with perpendicular magnetization has been measured with a magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometer and calculated with a newly developed Preisach model. Compared to materials such as traditional magnetic recording media, Go/Pt multilayer films show a more complete picture of the progression of aftereffect because the magnetization of this material decays from saturation almost all the way to a ground state in a reasonable length of time. The magnetization measurements for times equal to negative and positive infinity are asymptotically horizontal, with a transition region that is linear on a logarithmic time scale. In contrast, typical published aftereffect analyses exhibit only a very small percentage of the total aftereffect that could be observed if time were not a factor in making measurements. A Preisach-Arrhenius model is used to calculate the magnetic aftereffect in the Go/Pt multilayer. Comparisons of the model to experimental results show not only the validity of the model, but also its value in predicting very short-time and long-time aftereffect behavior, and low levels of aftereffect occurring in noisy data, all of which are difficult to observe experimentally. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.