Abstract
The magnetic microstructure of single-crystalline MnAs films on GaAs(001) has been investigated. Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) reveals a three-dimensional magnetization pattern that is in disagreement with the simple domain picture observed by surface-sensitive magnetic imaging. Here, we present a consistent micromagnetic picture of MnAs thin films in the ferromagnetic stripe phase, which appears in the course of the phase transition. A number of equilibrium magnetization patterns of the stripes are found that are, in fact, based on flux-closure domain patterns in the basal plane of MnAs. The simulation of a stripe array yields excellent agreement with the measured surface magnetization. The experimentally observed stray field contrast was confirmed by MFM contrast simulations based on these equilibrium magnetization patterns.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 09K103 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Physics |
Volume | 101 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2007 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Physics and Astronomy(all)