Ion beam induced magnetic nanostructure patterning

Using results from previous work on the initial stages of ion beam mixing in metallic multilayers, we developed a method allowing us to pattern the magnetic properties of Pt/Co thin film sandwiches and multilayers without affecting their optical or topographical properties. Excellent control of local coercivity or magnetic anisotropy is obtained in the irradiated areas. We produced arrays of 1 μm wide stripes with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, separated by 1 μm wide paramagnetic stripes, and studied domain wall motion in these structures. Calculations show that nanometer scale resolution can be achieved. Besides its interest for micromagnetics studies, the technique holds promise for applications in high density magnetic recording and magnetic sensor technologies