Anisotropy characteristics in a Permalloy film induced by a nonuniform magnetic field

Inhomogeneities were observed for the first time in the magnetic structure of a thin Permalloy film, induced by a strongly nonuniform magnetic field applied in the plane of the substrate during fabrication of the samples. The films were obtained by vacuum deposition using a molecular-beam epitaxy system. A nonuniform field was created on the substrate using four samarium-cobalt magnets. The anisotropy of local sections of the samples was measured using a scanning-ferromagnetic-resonance spectrometer. A strong correlation was observed between the distribution of the magnitude and direction of the local magnetic anisotropy of the film and the magnetic-field distribution in the plane of the substrate. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1291–1293 (July 1998)