Magnetic domains in Ni–Mn–Ga martensitic thin films

doi:10.1088/0953-8984/17/34/006

Magnetic domains in Ni–Mn–Ga martensitic thin films

V A Chernenko et al 2005 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17 5215-5224 doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/17/34/006

PDF (519 KB) | References | Articles citing this article

V A Chernenko^1,4, R Lopez Anton², M Kohl¹, M Ohtsuka³, I Orue² and J M Barandiaran²
¹ IMT, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, D-76021, Karlsruhe, Germany
² Universidad del País Vasco, Departamento de Electricidad y Electrónica, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain
³ IMRAM, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
⁴ Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. On leave from: Institute of Magnetism, Vernadsky street 36-b, Kyiv 03142, Ukraine
E-mail: volodymyr{_}chern@yahoo.com

Abstract. A series of martensitic Ni₅₂Mn₂₄Ga₂₄ thin films deposited on alumina ceramic substrates has been prepared by using RF (radio-frequency) magnetron sputtering. The film thickness, d, varies from 0.1 to 5.0 µm. Magnetic domain patterns have been imaged by the MFM (magnetic force microscopy) technique. A maze domain structure is found for all studied films. MFM shows a large out-of-plane magnetization component and a rather uniform domain width for each film thickness. The domain width, δ, depends on the film thickness as $\delta \sim \sqrt {d}$ in the whole studied range of film thickness. This dependence is the expected one for magnetic anisotropy and magnetostatic contributions in a perpendicular magnetic domain configuration. The proportionality coefficient is also consistent with the values of saturation magnetization and magnetic anisotropy determined in the samples.

Print publication: Issue 34 (31 August 2005)
Received 15 April 2005, in final form 30 June 2005
Published 12 August 2005

Post to CiteUlike |

Post to Connotea |

Post to Bibsonomy

Magnetic domains in Ni–Mn–Ga martensitic thin films

Find related articles

Article options

Authors & Referees