Magnetization Reversal Studies of Periodic Magnetic Arrays via Scattering Methods

Magnetic patterns with different shapes and aspect ratios provide control over the remanent domain state, the coercivity, and over different types of reversal mechanisms. We discuss magneto-optical, soft x-ray resonant scattering, and neutron scattering methods for evaluating the vector magnetization during reversal and the higher Fourier components of the magnetization distribution. These scattering methods, providing a statistical averaged signal, contrast real space methods, which give information on individual islands.