An investigation of saw-tooth domain walls in Ni/Fe/Co films

Abstract

Head-on domains having saw-tooth wall configurations in Ni/Fe/Co films are discussed in relation to the existing theoretical models. The existence of Neel tails within such wall structures as previously proposed is supported and discussed with respect to: (a) direct magneto-optic observations and measurements, and (b) a comparison of the predicted saw-tooch amplitude and angles with the observed values. A large number of films were investigated and the wall angles were found to be dependent upon the ratio of the coercivity to anisotropy field, H_c/H_k, as predicted in the Neel tail model, whilst the saw-tooth amplitude was determined predominantly by the coercivity. Effective wall widths of the order of 100 mu m have been observed in 0.14 mu m thick 80/17/3 Ni/Fe/Co films.