TUNNELING STABILIZED, MAGNETIC FORCE MICROSCOPY WITH A GOLD-COATED, NICKEL-FILM TIP

Tunneling stabilized magnetic force microscopy (TSMFM) is done with a scanning tunneling microscope having a flexible magnetic tip. TSMFM can be used to generate maps of magnetic records with submicrometer resolution. We find that Au-coated, Ni-film tips made from a free-standing 0.5-mu-m-thick Ni film can be used as a noninvasive probe for imaging magnetic bit patterns on the surfaces of computer hard and floppy disks, and computer tape. This variant of scanning tunneling microscopy shows promise as a viable tool for diagnostic use in the magnetic recording industry.