Computer simulation of magnetic domains in ultrathin magnetic films with a few monolayers

Abstract

We performed a Monte-Carlo simulation of magnetic domains in an ultrathin film with surface anisotropy. We found that the out-of-plane spin component S i ⊥ forms magnetic domains and that the shape of the domains is closely related to the arrangement of the in-plane spin component S i || . When in-plane magnetization is absent ( M ||=0), isolated bubble-like domains of S i ⊥ appear, whereas stripe domains appear when M ||≠0. The bubble-like domains were found in thin films, and the stripe domains were found in less thin films.