Orthogonal bistable magnetic domains in Co/Au(1 1 1)

Abstract The thickness-driven spin-reorientation transition of Co/Au(1 1 1) is studied via in situ Kerr microscopy. On varying the premagnetization conditions in external field of in-plane or normal orientation, the magnetic switching into a final remanent state from an in-plane field is investigated. The quantitative analysis of the Kerr rotation derived from Kerr microscopy images allows the determination of the population of different magnetic phases as a function of thickness. Coexisting magnetic phases with preferred in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization orientation are identified. The overall switching behaviour is explained by thermal activation of magnetic domains. We show that there is a population of orthogonal bistable magnetic domains, which can be remanently switched between out-of-plane and in-plane orientation by the appropriate magnetic field. This quantity is related to the intersection of the population of states for in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization.