Interpretation of Magnetic Force Microscopy Contrast Using Commercially Available Batch Tips for Investigation of Surface Magnetic Domain Structure in Polycrystalline Bulk Equiatomic L10 FePd

摘要

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is a useful technique for surface domain investigation; however, contrast interpretation can be difficult in situations in which imaging conditions are not ideal. The current work provides justification for a qualitative contrast interpretation framework, suitable for extracting physically meaningful information from MFM contrast obtained using commercially available batch tips for bulk equiatomic L10 FePd with several microstructures. Due to the large stray fields generated at the surface of bulk permanent magnet-type samples, the main complication in contrast interpretation is assumed to be due to the tip remagnetization effects. Although the framework does not adequately describe all of the contrast observed, it can be used to make reasonable conclusions about the underlying domain structures for complicated microstructures without the need for support from extensive modeling.