High Susceptibility Domain Configuration in Micron-Sized Ferromagnetic Stripes

We report on a newly discovered domain configuration, observed with a magneto-optical microscope, in narrow stripes of NiCoFe, CoFeCu and NiFe. The stripes — 1 to 25 μm wide and 0.5 to 2.0 μm thick — are used here as a model for a narrow-track pole of a recording head. The new domain configuration, with its magnetization oriented mostly in a plane perpendicular to the long dimension of the stripe, suggests the possibility of obtaining a large high-frequency susceptibility even in recording head poles as narrow as 1 μm. © 1993 IEEE