High Frequency Magnetic Force Microscopy-Imaging of Harddisk Write Heads

A high-frequency magnetic force microscope (HF-MFM) is built up for the observation of the high-frequency stray fields of harddisk write heads. We demonstrate the performance of the system using harddisk write heads from different manufacturers. We show that the use of advanced high-aspect ratio MFM cantilevers yields HF-MFM images with clearly improved spatial resolution. Furthermore, we present results obtained using MFM cantilevers with a magnetic coating of Ba3Co2Fe24O41 (BCFO).