Study of magnetic thin films using Kerr microscopy

Magnetic nano-structures especially thin films have been subject of intense research for the last few decades. The magnetic thin films have various applications like high-density data storage, magnetic sensing, magneto-electronic etc [1]. The magnetic properties of any magnetic material hugely depend on its magnetic microstructure and hence it is essential to study magnetic microstructure i.e., the magnetic domain structure. There are many experimental techniques to study magnetic microstructure and each technique as its own advantages and disadvantages. But Kerr microscopy technique which works on the principle of magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) can give both magnetization and magnetic microstructure in a single measurement and therefore is being used extensively in recent times[1].

The main objective of the present work is therefore to employ Kerr microscopy to explore some of the magnetic thin films and study their magnetization reversal process substantiated with magnetic microstructure. The presentation would be broadly divided into two parts. The first part deals with the study of magnetization reversal of ferromagnetic (FM) thin films by manipulating the magnetic anisotropy viz., by controlling the crystallographic texture, by depositing on ferroelastic substrates, patterned substrates etc [2,3]. And the second part deals with the study of magnetization reversal of FM thin films when they are in the proximity of anti-ferromagnetic layers (exchange bias systems) and hard magnetic layers (exchange spring magnets)[ 4,5,6]. 

References
1.	Hubert and R. Schafer. Magnetic Domains: The Analysis of Magnetic Microstructures. Springe	r, Berlin, 1998. 
2.	Z. Hussain et al. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50 (2017) 425001
3.	Z. Hussain et al., Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 477 (2019) 408–414
4.	Z. Hussain et al J. Appl. Phys., 122 (2017)103903
5.	Z.Hussain et al. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 430(2017)78-84
6.	Z. Hussain et al., Journal of Applied Physics 126 (2019) 043905