Determination of magnetic axes distribution in epitaxial Fe (001) micrometric squares by magneto optical technique

In-plane magneto optical hysteresis loops have been used to determine the magnetic axes distribution of crystalline Fe (0 0 1) micrometric squares of different sizes (2.5–10 μm) and separations (0.2 and 0.6 μm). The angular dependence of the magnetization at remanence shows the interplay between the anisotropy of the unpatterned Fe thin film and the anisotropies induced by the patterning process. A rich variety of behaviors are found when the arrays of squares are rotated with regard to the Fe main crystalline directions