SEM temperature study of magnetic domain structure in cobalt monocrystals

Abstract A scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to observe the magnetic domain structure of a cobalt monocrystal. The temperature dependence of the domain structure is investigated. The changes in domain structure are found to be due to the strong temperature dependence of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of cobalt. Digital image processing is used on the images obtained directly from the SEM. The main reasons for the application of digital image processing are: low level of type-I magnetic contrast, particularly at the higher temperatures used, and the complex character of the magnetic domain structure. Statistical distributions of magnetic domain width are presented.