Switching Behavior of Patterned Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ Islands

抄録

The magnetic behavior of patterned Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ arrays consisting of 0.8 million nearly identical islands with a size of 1μm×5μm and 11nm thick was characterized using an alternating gradient force magnetometer and magnetic force microscopy. Magnetic hysteresis of the arrays illustrated that the average switching behavior is symmetric; however, the switching field of a single island is not symmetric. Our study clearly shows that the magnetization reversal of these islands is not coherent rotation.