Measurement of the effects of the localized field of a magnetic force microscope tip on a 180 degrees domain wall

Opposite polarity magnetic force microscope (MFM) profiles of domain walls (DWs) in magnetite were measured with a commercial MFM tip magnetized in opposite directions perpendicular to the sample surface. The influence of the tip field on a DW resulted in an overall more attractive interaction. The difference between opposite polarity DW profiles provided a qualitative measurement of the reversible changes in DW structure due to the localized field of the MFM tip. The dependence of the measured alteration on tip-sample separation was fit with a power law at different positions across the DW. The rate of decay of the alteration with tip-sample separation, quantified by the exponent of the power law fit, varied across the DW and was much slower than expected from a simple model. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.