Switching characteristics of submicron cobalt islands

The magnetic characteristics of 0.2x0.4x0.02 mu m(3) cobalt islands were investigated using magnetic force microscopy in the presence of an applied field. The islands were noninteracting and showed a wide variety of single and multidomain configurations. The distribution of magnetization directions supports earlier models which suggest that crystalline anisotropy plays a dominant role in establishing a dispersion of easy axis directions about the long axis of the particles. The magnetic evolution, involving rotation and switching of individual islands, was observed at various points along the microscopic magnetization curve. A magnetization curve of an ensemble of islands was derived from the images and compares remarkably well with macroscopic M-H measurements. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.