title: Oscillatory decay of magnetization induced by domain-wall stray fields
abstract: The demagnetization of a hard ferromagnetic layer via the fringing fields of domain walls created by reversing the moment of a neighboring soft ferromagnetic layer is explored experimentally. An unusual oscillatory decay of the magnetic moment of the hard layer is observed using structures in which the demagnetization occurs after a few hundred cycles. This surprising observation is confirmed on a microscopic scale by detailed imaging of the magnetization of the hard layer using high resolution photoemission electron microscopy and by micromagnetic simulations.
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California 95120-6099, USA.
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luning
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scholl
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nolting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stohr
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Parkin