New measurement techniques to determine magnetization and coercivity using a torque magnetometer

Abstract

We have developed new techniques to measure the magnetization and the coercivity of a uniaxial magnetic material using a torque magnetometer. The magnetization could be measured from the linear dependence at the low-field regime in a plot of the torque versus the applied magnetic field, where the direction of the applied field was perpendicular to the uniaxial orientation. The coercivity could be obtained by taking the value of the applied field where the torque is zero, when the direction of the applied field was (180+δ) degrees from the uniaxial orientation. The techniques were applied to determine the magnetizations and the coercivities of several Co/Pd multilayer thin films. The results were confirmed to be similar within a 2% difference to those obtained by a vibrating sample magnetometer.