Magnets, Soft and Hard: Domains
2 and 3 of this contribution, the basic
Below the Curie temperature, the elementary magnetic
moments of ferro- and ferrimagnetic materials are
spontaneously ordered (see Magnetism in Solids :
General Introduction). On a mesoscopic scale in the
nanometer range, many of these elementary dipoles
can be collected in an average value called magnetiz-
ation, which is represented by a classical vector
M(r) of unit A\m (r is the position vector). The
absolute value of the magnetization vector, given by
the saturation magnetization Ms, is a function of
temperature alone for all regular magnetic materials, it
is constant throughout a (chemically uniform) sample
and is largely independent of applied magnetic fields.
We can therefore write M(r) l Msm(r) with m# l 1,
where m(r) is the unit vector field of magnetization.
For samples of finite dimensions, this vector field is
usually subdivided into magnetic domains, i.e., vol-
umes that are themselves uniformly magnetized to a
value equal to Ms along different directions. They are
separated by domain walls, in which the magnetization
vector continuously rotates on the 10–1000 nm scale to
accommodate the change in magnetization orientation
between adjacent domains. Domain formation is
driven by energy minimization, with the reduction of
the stray field energy being responsible for their
development above all. The character of a domain
pattern depends on the strength and orientation of
‘‘easy axes of magnetization’’ (anisotropy, see also
Magnetic Anisotropy) relative to the main surfaces of
the magnet, but also its shape, dimensions, and
physical microstructure are important.
The magnetic microstructure, i.e., the arrangement
of domains and walls, together with their reaction in
external magnetic fields (magnetization processes)
determine the macroscopic properties of magnetic
materials. Due to the presence of domains, a magnet
can accommodate a continuous range of magnetic
states that reach from complete demagnetization (if
the moments of all domains cancel each other) to
saturation in external fields. In soft magnetic materials
(see Soft Magnetic Materials : Basics), the magnetic
microstructure can easily be modified in small fields
either by wall motion or magnetization rotation. For
instance, a high permeability in the core of inductive
devices is provided by easily displaceable domain walls
leading to a steep magnetization curve, whereas a
linear curve for sensor applications requires rotation
processes mainly. If major and irreversible rearrange-
ments of domains occur during magnetization, they
are responsible for losses and noise in devices, and
pinning of domain walls by material imperfections
results in hysteresis with coercivity and remanence (see
Magnetic Hysteresis). Strong pinning or the preven-
tion of domain nucleation causes a high coercivity and
leads to hard magnetic materials (see Hard Magnetic
Materials, Basic Principles of).
In Sects.
domain structures in both material classes will be
reviewed based on Kerr-microscopical domain studies
(see Kerr Microscopy), following some introductory
remarks on the fundamentals of domains in Sect. 1.
Reviews on magnetic materials with emphasis on
magnetic microstructure can be found in Cullity
(1972), Chikazumi (1997), and O’Handley (2000). A
comprehensive review on domains together with an
extended bibliography is given in Hubert and Scha$ fer
(1998).
1. Fundamentals of Magnetic Domains
1.1 Energetics of a Ferromagnet
Domain formation is driven by minimization of the
total free energy. The relevant magnetic energies are
introduced here by showing their effect on the mag-
netization vector field of (soft) magnetic films (Fig. 1).
(a) Exchange energy. A ferromagnet prefers a paral-
lel alignment of magnetization vectors (Fig. 1(a)).
Deviations from this condition invoke an energy
penalty, the exchange energy that can be described
by a stiffness expression Eex l A (grad m)#dV (A is
the exchange constant).
(b) Stray field energy. A saturated state as assumed
in Fig. 1(a) would cause a magnetic stray field for a
finite sample. This can be derived from the material
law B l µo(HjM) and Maxwell’s equation div B l
0 (B is the magnetic flux density in teslas and H the
magnetic field in amperes per meter), leading to div
H lkdiv M. The sinks and sources of magnetiz-
ation (div M) may be interpreted as magnetic charges
(note that magnetic charges never appear isolated but
are always balanced by opposite charges, different to
electric charges). A field arises from these charges
that acts as stray field outside the sample and as
demagnetization field in the interior. Volume, inter-
face, and surface charges may be distinguished
(Fig. 1(b)), the latter occurring if the magnetization
vector is not parallel to a surface or edge. The
energy connected to the stray field is Estray l
k0.5 µo Hstray:MdV. It scales with the factor Kd l
M s#µo\2 (stray field energy coefficient, units J m−$),
which is a measure of the maximum stray field energy
density of a material.
If the stray field energy dominates, flux-closed
magnetization configurations will develop that tend to
avoid stray fields. For the disk in Fig. 1(a), a concentric
pattern would be completely charge-free, at the ex-
pense of some exchange energy though. Such a
continuously flowing, isotropic configuration is in fact
observed in anisotropy-free NiFe (Permalloy) disks
(Fig. 1(c)).