title: Expansion and relaxation of magnetic mirror domains in a Pt/Co/Pt/Co/Pt multilayer with antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling.
abstract: We detail measurements of field-driven expansion and zero-field relaxation of magnetic mirror domains in antiferromagnetically coupled perpendicularly magnetized ultrathin Co layers. The zero-field stability of aligned ('mirror') domains in such systems results from non-homogeneous dipolar stray fields which exist in the vicinity of the domain walls. During field-driven domain expansion, we evidence a separation of the domain walls which form the mirror domain boundary. However, the walls realign, thereby reforming a mirror domain, if their final separation is below a critical distance at the end of the field pulse. This critical distance marks the point at which the effective net interaction between the walls changes from attractive to repulsive.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, M013, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. peter.metaxas@uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Metaxas
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Stamps
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Jamet
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferré
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baltz
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rodmacq