Magnetically defined domain isolation for studies of nucleation and growth coercivities

Magnetic domain nucleation site distributions within a perpendicular magnetic film were measured by magnetically confining nucleated domains within small regions in the film. The confinement was achieved by placing a high coercivity layer adjacent to the layer under test and using the stray fields from domains recorded in this layer to magnetostatically halt domain wall motion in the test layer. Experimental results confirm the functionality of this method, and are shown for two samples with different magnetic properties. Index Terms--Coercivity, magnetic domains, magnetization processes, magnetooptic films, measurement, nucleation.