Imaging the magnetic domain structure of potential recording devices is necessary for the development of new products. Here we have used amorphous MFM tips to image the domain structure in a thin film etched to mimic a prototype recording head. Classic closure domain structures adjacent to the gaps, cut by focused ion beam milling, have been observed. Moreover a strain induced closure (SIC) domain pattern of pinned walls along the device edge, a result of imprecise ion milling in the photolithographic process, is present. For comparison, commercial crystalline CoCr MFM tips have also been used to image the thin film sample.
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