Magnetic stripe domains in Fe/Fe–N multilayers

Short-period Fe/Fe–N multilayers (with the nominal composition of Fe–N layer close to Fe2N) were deposited on (0 0 1)-oriented GaAs substrates at room temperature by a sputtering technique. Magnetic properties of these multilayers at room temperature were investigated by the magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and by non-polarized neutron diffraction. Quasi-parallel magnetic stripe domains with a period of about 200 nm were observed by MFM on the sample surfaces. Magnetic space coherence in the stripe domain system was directly demonstrated by the neutron diffraction.