Dual-tip magnetic force microscopy with suppressed influence on magnetically soft samples

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Physics

Background:

• Standard magnetic force microscopy (MFM) enables nanoscale magnetic field imaging.
• Conventional MFM involves a magnetic tip contacting the sample, potentially perturbing its magnetization, especially for soft magnetic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved MFM technique that minimizes sample magnetization disturbance.
• To present a novel dual-tip magnetic force microscopy (DT-MFM) method for enhanced nanoscale magnetic imaging.

Main Methods:

• A focused ion beam technique was used to cut a cantilever in half, creating two distinct tips.
• One tip is magnetized for magnetic imaging, and the other remains non-magnetized for topography scanning.
• This segregation allows for simultaneous or sequential scanning without direct contact between the magnetic tip and the sample.

Main Results:

• The DT-MFM method significantly reduces perturbations of the magnetic tip compared to standard MFM.
• The fabricated dual-tip sensor effectively separates topographic and magnetic field measurements.
• Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of DT-MFM in imaging magnetic domain structures with reduced artifacts.

Conclusions:

• DT-MFM offers a superior approach for investigating magnetic domain structures in various materials.
• This technique minimizes sample magnetization disturbance, crucial for accurate nanoscale magnetic analysis.
• DT-MFM has broad applicability in fields like data storage and biomedicine.