Macrospin limit and configurational anisotropy in nanoscale Permalloy triangles

Abstract

In Permalloy submicron triangles, configurational anisotropy - a higher-order form of shape anisotropy - yields three equivalent easy axes, imposed by the structures' symmetry order. Supported by micromagnetic simulations, an experimental method was devised to evaluate the nanostructure dimensions for which a Stoner-Wohlfarth type of reversal could be used to describe this particular magnetic anisotropy. In this regime, a straightforward procedure using an in-plane rotating field allowed us to quantify experimentally the six-fold anisotropy fields for triangles of different thicknesses and sizes