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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Optimizing Magnetic Force Microscopy Resolution and Sensitivity to Visualize Nanoscale Magnetic Domains
Published on: July 20, 2022
Domain walls in the (Ga,Mn)as diluted magnetic semiconductor
Akira Sugawara1, H Kasai, A Tonomura
1Initial Research Project, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0411, Japan. akira.sugawara.ne@hitachi.com
Abstract:
We report experimental and theoretical studies of magnetic domain walls in an in-plane magnetized (Ga,Mn)As dilute moment ferromagnetic semiconductor. Our high-resolution electron holography technique provides direct images of domain wall magnetization profiles. The experiments are interpreted based on microscopic calculations of the micromagnetic parameters and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert simulations. We find that the competition of uniaxial and biaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropies in the film is directly reflected in orientation dependent wall widths, ranging from approximately 40 to 120 nm. The domain walls are of the Néel type and evolve from near-90 degrees walls at low temperatures to large angle [11[over ]0]-oriented walls and small angle [110]-oriented walls at higher temperatures.
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