title: Nanoscale Magnetic Domains in Mesoscopic Magnets
abstract: The basic magnetic properties of three-dimensional nanostructured materials can be drastically different from those of a continuous film. High-resolution magnetic force microscopy studies of magnetic submicrometer-sized cobalt dots with geometrical dimensions comparable to the width of magnetic domains reveal a variety of intricate domain patterns controlled by the details of the dot geometry. By changing the thickness of the dots, the width of the geometrically constrained magnetic domains can be tuned. Concentric rings and spirals with vortex configurations have been stabilized, with particular incidence in the magnetization reversal process as observed in the ensemble-averaged hysteresis loops.
authors.affiliation: M. Hehn, K. Ounadjela, J.-P. Bucher, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Materiaux de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, 67037 Strasbourg Cedex, France. F. Rousseaux and D. Decanini, L2M/CNRS, 196 Avenue Henri Ravera, 92225 Bagneux, France. B. Bartenlian and C. Chappert, Institut d'Electronique Fondamentale, Universite Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hehn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ounadjela
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rousseaux
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Decanini
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bartenlian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chappert