Effect of varying sputtering parameters on the observation of magnetic domains using high-resolution Bitter microscopy technique

摘要

High-pressure-sputtered iron nanoparticles have been synthesized in a gun designed for this purpose. We observe a gradual increase in the particle size with increasing gas pressure inside the gun. X-ray-diffraction studies indicate that the major phase is bcc iron and the super conducting quantum interference device measurements clearly show that the particles are ferromagnetic at room temperature. We have used these particles to image the domains on magnetic recording media using high-resolution Bitter microscopy and have studied the quality of the images thus produced over a range of sputtering conditions.