First order reversal curve studies of the magnetization reversal behavior in nanoscale magnetic materials

This dissertation investigates the magnetic reversal processes in three types of fundamentally interesting and technologically important materials. In a FORC measurement, ∼100 partial hysteresis curves are used to map out magnetization reversal processes. A partial derivative of the FORC data yields a distribution, rho, which contains detailed information about the magnetization reversal processes. Throughout this thesis, the FORC method was developed into a rigorous experimental tool to address challenges in studying magnetization reversal. The materials studied are: Co/Pt multilayers, spring magnets, and La1-xSrxCoO3.;In the conventional spring magnet Fe/epitaxial-SmCo, the reversal proceeds by reversible rotation of the Fe soft layer followed by irreversible switching of the SmCo hard layer. FORC studies of the Fe/epitaxial-SmCo spring magnets reveal rich features during partial SmCo layer demagnetization. Features at high fields track the amount of SmCo that has reversed while at low fields the change in interlayer coupling is observed. To directly measure the exchange field, a second order reversal curve (SORC) method is introduced. Comparison of the epitaxial Fe/SmCo is also made to FeNi/polycrystalline-FePt where the FeNi and FePt layers reverse in a continuous manner.;La1-xSrxCoO3 shows a variation in magnetic behavior ranging from isolated ferromagnetic clusters to long range bulk ferromagnetic order with increased Sr doping. This manifests itself in an evolution in rho ranging from little feature at low doping to features tilting towards negative bias at high doping indicating an onset of long range FM order. With increasing temperature, the fraction of irreversible switching determined from the FORC distribution closely follows the fractional FM phases measured by La nuclear magnetic resonance.;Co/Pt multilayer thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy show three distinct stages for reversal. Significant irreversible switching persists well beyond the apparent saturation field due to residual domains. These residual domains fell below the resolution limit of transmission x-ray microscopy measurements.