Advanced aperture cantilevers made by focused ion beam for both magnetic domain structure and morphology investigation in high resolution magneto optical microscopy

Magneto-optical microscopy is a well-known and widely used method of magnetic domain structure investigation. Spatial resolution is limited by diffraction limit of the light and practically not exceed 0.5μm. Possibility to overcome diffraction limit by combination of magneto-optical microscopy and magnetic-force microscopy was showed earlier [1]. Aperture cantilever was used to light up the sample in near-field mode. In this paper, authors review most popular technology for aperture cantilever production with its advantages and disadvantages. Authors propose new technology based on focused ion beam treatment for creation aperture cantilevers with advanced parameters such as small aperture size and light throughput. Bi-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi: YIG) thin films with high magneto-optical activity and different period of domain structure were used as test objects. High resolution images of both morphology and domain structure obtained with new advanced aperture cantilevers are shown.