Lorentz microscopy studies of domain wall trap structures

Domain wall traps of varying geometry have been studied using Lorentz microscopy in a transmission electron microscope. Electron beam lithography and lift-off were used to fabricate the elements whose shape allowed the formation of a head-to-head domain structure in the central section. Previous micromagnetic simulations have shown that different head-to-head configurations are possible depending on the width and thickness of the strip. In the majority of our in situ magnetizing experiments a vortex domain wall configuration was nucleated. This could be moved reproducibly between the ends of the element under fields of a few tens of oersted. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.