Observation of magnetic stripe domains in Ni-Fe films using spin-polarized scanning electron microscopy

Magnetic stripe domains in evaporated Ni–Fe films were observed by using spin-polarized scanning electron microscopy (spin-SEM). At the surface of the Ni–Fe film, both the magnetization components in the film plane, M x and M y , perpendicular and parallel to the stripes, respectively, change periodically across the stripe domains. The wavelength for M x change is twice the stripe width, while the wavelength for M y is the same as the stripe width. The amplitude for M x change is larger than that for M y . From this it has been clarified that the magnetization near the surface not only rotates upwards and downwards from the film plane, but also rotates in the film plane across the stripe domains.