2-DIMENSIONAL BLOCH-TYPE DOMAIN WALLS IN FERROMAGNETIC FILMS

The structure of a two-dimensional 180°Bloch-type domain wall in a ferromagnetic film has been generated directly from an iterative micromagnetic energy minimization. The resultant magnetization distribution (which varies through the thickness of the film as well as in the plane of the film perpendicular to the wall) is observed to be significantly different from previous one-dimensional models. The equilibrium wall structure is characterized by extensive flux closure internal to the film, very low pole densities on the film surfaces, asymmetry in the magnetization distribution perpendicular to the wall, and an approximately linear dependence of the over-all wall width on film thickness. Finally, it is found that the total wall energy in this two-dimensional model is less than one-half the comparable value predicted from the most accurate one-dimensional treatment for 1000 Å Permalloy films and less than one-third the corresponding one-dimensional value at 2000 Å. © 1969 The American Institute of Physics.