High resolution magnetic imaging of perpendicular magnetic recording head using frequency-modulated magnetic force microscopy with a hardmagnetic tip

High resolution imaging of ac magnetic field from a trailing-edge shielded perpendicular magnetic writing head was demonstrated by using frequency-modulated magnetic force microscopy (FM-MFM) with a high-coercivity FePt MFM tip. The distribution of perpendicular magnetic field gradient of the recording head is presented and can be used to evaluate the recording performance of the head. A Fourier analysis of the images suggests that magnetic spectral features as small as 15 nm should be detectable by using the FM-MFM technique with a high coercivity tip. The enhancement in spatial resolution of FM-MFM is very crucial for the analysis of nanoscale magnetic features and to shed light on the development of next generation magnetic recording heads.