Effective magnetic anisotropy manipulation by oblique deposition in magnetostatically coupled Co nanostrip arrays

We report on an experimental investigation of magnetic properties and domain structure of single nanostrips and their magnetostatically coupled arrays possessing the shape anisotropy and anisotropy induced by oblique deposition, which are oriented at different angles to each other. The orientation of the effective anisotropy and the value of coercive force of nanostrip arrays depends on the angle between directions of the induced anisotropies. Micromagnetic simulations, performed to determine possible spin configurations especially within domain walls, support the experimentally observed magnetic domain structure. An influence of dipole-dipole interaction between magnetostatically coupled nanostrips on the domain structure and coercive force of arrays are discussed. We demonstrate the experimental validation of an early-proposed theoretical model for determination of the effective magnetic anisotropy through the combination of induced anisotropies. •The individual Co nanostrips and their magnetostatically coupled arrays were studied.•The easy axis of magnetization of nanostrip arrays depends on the angle between Ku and Ksh.•Theoretical predictions of the magnitude and orientation of Keff were confirmed by the experiment.•The three types of domain structure in dependence on the mutual orientation of Ku and Ksh were observed.