Abstract :
Advanced probes for magnetic force microscopy have been produced by ey-beam lithography and Arq-ion etching. The
probes consist of individual CoCrPt, Fe, or Ni particles with a typical size of 100=100=100 nm3, located at the tip apex
of commercial cantilevers. They were compared to conventional thin film probes by performing magnetic force imaging on
hard disc test patterns and soft garnet films. The advanced probes yield a considerable improvement in lateral resolution due
to the three-dimensional confinement of the magnetically active tip volume. For soft magnetic samples the improvements are
even more striking since the low stray field of the new probe allows nondestructive imaging at much smaller probe–sample
spacing than achievable by conventional probes. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
