Advances in magnetic force microscopy
The cornerstone of this thesis is the use of magnetic force microscopy to extract added information from ferromagnetic samples. An extensive variety of materials has been studied and is reported throughout the manuscript. It is divided in five chapters, each of which is devoted to a different subject. Magnetization reversal processes are studied in samples governed by shape or magneto-crystalline anisotropy. Examples of eventual artifacts in MFM images are given, caused by whether electrostatic effects or rotation of spins in the tip, and a solution is given to avoid misinterpretation of data. A fast, accessible and low cost way of fabricating MFM tips with a remarkable performance is also presented and practical applications are shown. In addition, the most innovative part of this thesis focuses on the study of the energy dissipated by spins in the MFM tip to extract information from the magnetic properties of the sample.