Mapping spatial variations of the coercivity on patterned magneto-optical materials

The spatial variation of coercivity on patterned magneto-optical (MO) materials has been studied with a Kerr microscope. Our results show that the coercivity values on arrays made by holes are larger than those observed on the land regions. In contrast with nonpatterned MO media, which present a sharp Gaussian-like distribution, the coercivity distribution in the patterned material is much wider and shows an exponential-type distribution. This article maps the spatial variation of the coercivity on patterned magnetic materials with a spatial resolution of 0.1×0.1 μm2.