Spatially periodic magnetic structure produced by femtosecond laser-interference crystallization of amorphous Co2MnSi thin film

Abstract

Femtosecond laser-interference crystallization (FLIC) was used to form a spatially periodic magnetic structure by selectively crystallizing a paramagnetic amorphous Co2MnSi thin film. Regularly spaced alternating lines of polycrystalline and microcrystalline regions with a periodicity of 2 mu m were produced by FLIC. The crystalline region composed of similar to 100-nm-sized grains contained a nonequilibrium ferromagnetic phase intermixed with beta-Mn. The areas between the crystallized lines also received sufficient energy, crystallizing into a microcrystalline state with its grain size ranging from 1 to 5 nm. The magnetic force microscopy of the samples clearly revealed the one-dimensional periodic magnetic domains resulting from the modulated microstructure.