Hysteresis in single and polycrystalline iron thin films: Major and minor loops, first order reversal curves, and Preisach modeling

Hysteretic behavior was studied in a series of Fe thin films, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, having different grain sizes and grown on different substrates. Major and minor loops and first order reversal curves (FORCs) were collected to investigate magnetization mechanisms and domain behavior under different magnetic histories. The minor loop coefficient and major loop coercivity increase with decreasing grain size due to higher defect concentration resisting domain wall movement. First order reversal curves allowed estimation of the contribution of irreversible and reversible susceptibilities and switching field distribution. The differences in shape of the major loops and first order reversal curves are described using a classical Preisach model with distributions of hysterons of different switching fields, providing a powerful visualization tool to help understand the magnetization switching behavior of Fe films as manifested in various experimental magnetization measurements.