The Fourier analysis of magnetic force microscopy imaging

Abstract

The stray field near the magnetic thin film sample surface has been calculated from the measured signal of the magnetic force microscopy (MFM) image by the method of discrete Fourier transform. It is found that the domain structure of the film cannot uniquely be determined by the MFM image because the MFM image just reflects the magnetic charges distribution at sample surface. In fact, the magnetic charges at sample surface have two sources: magnetic domain or domain wall. For the same MFM image, the different sources of the magnetic charges will result in very different domain structure. A proper way to determine the domain structure is to know the source of the magnetic charges and use the different components of the stray field to redraw the image. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.