BLOCH WALLS IN MAGNETOSTRICTIVE METALLIC GLASSES

One-dimensional Bloch walls in weakly anisotropic magnetostrictive media are investigated theoretically. It is shown that there are two effects of magnetoelastic coupling on the walls: 1. magnetic anisotropy induced by external stress and 2. internal stress of the wall required by compatibility. The resulting magnetic anisotropy is generally of orthorhombic symmetry implying that the wall energy depends on the orientation of the wall. The internal stress of the wall can be a determining factor for the energy and the width of the walls in weakly anisotropic and highly magnetostrictive amorphous alloys.