HIGH-DENSITY THERMOMAGNETIC RECORDING METHOD USING A SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE

A new thermomagnetic recording method using tunneling current in a scanning tunneling microscope as a heating source is proposed. In the experiment, pulse voltage of from 2-8 V with a pulse width of 1 ms is applied to the sample, while the probe position is kept at a bias voltage of 0.2 V and a tunneling current of 0.3 nA. As a result, we have demonstrated that thermally recorded magnetic domains are formed in a Pt/Co multilayered film and minimum domains as small as 0.2 μm in diameter are observed using a polarized optical microscope. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.