Measurements on microscopic barium ferrite single crystals using a vibrating reed magnetometer

Abstract

The magnetization processes occuring in a small individual particle (dimensions about 4 μm) of a barium ferrite single crystal are investigated using a high sensitivity vibrating reed magnetometer.1,2 With this apparatus magnetic moments smaller than 10−9 A cm2 may be detected if the particle is fixed to a hollow quartz reed which is kept under vacuum. The operating frequency is tuned to the resonance frequency of the reed. The examination exhibits a perfect rectangular primary hysteresis loop which indicates that the magnetic moment of the sample is completely reversed by a single Barkhausen jump. By repeating the reversal, a wide range of jump field strengths is revealed. Two types of minor loops are demonstrated depending on the magnitude of the jump field strength.