Domain faceting in an in-plane magnetic reorientation transition

Abstract

The microscopic structure of the $90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ in-plane magnetic reorientation transition in Fe(110) films is examined using photoemission x-ray microscopy. At the nanoscale, sharp magnetic boundaries are detected. They are indicative of a first-order transition and are consistent with Fe magnetic anisotropy constants. At the micron scale, the magnetic boundary breaks up into triangular patterns whose characteristic angular dependence is revealed by experiments on conical microwedges. This effect, fully accounted by micromagnetic simulations, opens the possibility to control the sharpness of the transition at the microscopic scale.