High frequency magnetic field imaging by frequency modulated magnetic force microscopy

High frequency ac magnetic field from magnetic recording head was successfully imaged by using our newly developed frequency-modulated magnetic force microscopy (FM-MFM), which uses the frequency modulation of cantilever oscillation caused by applying ac magnetic field to a mechanically oscillated cantilever. The FM-MFM has been demonstrated and the experimental results show good agreement with our proposed models for FM-MFM. The amplitude and phase images of an ac magnetic field can be obtained separately by using the FM-MFM technique with a lock-in amplifier. By taking advantage of this technique, the present FM-MFM method opens a possibility to evaluate the magnetic field characteristics of magnetic recording head with high spatial resolution. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3368706]