Checkerboard Domain Patterns on Epitaxially Grown Single-Crystal Thin Films of Iron, Nickel, and Cobalt

Abstract

Domain structures of epitaxially grown single-crystal thin films of iron, nickel, and cobalt are investigated by the Bitter pattern technique. In the case of iron and cobalt films of (001) orientation, checkerboard patterns are observed, from which the sign of the anisotropy constant can be determined. In the case of nickel, however, no such regular patterns were observed. On Ni films with (110) orientation, however, one can observe an elongated domain in the [110] direction. This seems to indicate that a [100] wall has a higher energy than a [110] wall. The 180° walls in thin films are unstable and tend to have fine structures.