Comparative study of stripe magnetic domains in epitaxial Ni(111) and Co(0001) films

Abstract

The evolution of stripe magnetic domain structures observed by magnetic force microscopy on epitaxial Ni(111) and Co(0001) films as a function of film thickness is successfully explained by a periodic one-dimensional model with tilted partial flux closure domains. The model predicts a sizable fraction of the magnetization not being parallel to the film's normal, which consequentially results in an in-plane magnetization in agreement with the experimentally observed magnetization for these films. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.