Magnetic force microscope tips coated with FePd, FePt, and CoPt alloy films

Magnetic force microscope (MFM) tips are prepared by coating Si tips of 4 nm radius with FePd, FePt, and CoPt films of 80 nm thickness at room temperature followed by annealing at 600 °C. The spatial resolution and the switching field are investigated. The resolution of about 9 nm is realized for all the tips. On the contrary, the switching fields of FePd-, FePt-, and CoPt-coated tips are 117.4, 37.8, and 268.6 kA/m, respectively. The crystal structure and the magnetic properties of coated magnetic thin films prepared on flat Si substrates are measured and the interrelationships with the MFM tip characteristics are briefly investigated.