Magnetic force microscopy probe with integrated coil

Abstract

A probe for use in an alternating current magnetic force microscopy (MFM) system is located on the free end of a cantilever in the MFM system. The probe has a pair of magnetic poles that form part of a magnetic yoke and a patterned electrically conductive coil wound through the yoke. The probe includes a probe tip that has a magnetic surface layer that is magnetically coupled to one of the poles and extends from it. When alternating current from the MFM system is passed through the probe coil the magnetization direction of the probe tip correspondingly alternates. The interaction of these alternating magnetic fields from the probe tip with the magnetic fields emanating from the sample whose magnetic fields are to be measured causes the cantilever to deflect between two extreme positions. The probe can be formed from a portion of a disk drive air-bearing slider with a patterned thin film inductive write head on its trailing end by growing the probe tip from the slider's air-bearing surface so as to be in contact with the gap and one of the poles of the write head. The probe can also be part of an integrated single-piece structure that includes the cantilever, probe body and probe tip which are formed using conventional thin film deposition and lithographic processes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.