The domain configuration on polycrystalline material

Abstract

The magnetic structure of polycrystalline iron with particular regard to (110) planes which are slightly inclined along the [110] axis to the surface of the sample are investigated. A dependence of the domain configuration on the angle of inclination on the individual crystals was found. In the first part of the paper [1] the method for rendering the domains visible is described. The second part contains a description of the preparation of the sample, the influence of mechanical and electrolytic polishing on the domain configuration and the procedure of anisotropic etching. In this way the orientation of the individual crystals in the material was determined. Further, the connection between the domain configuration and the crystallographic orientation was determined as the main part of the investigation. It is shown that for an inclination of approximately 6° between the [001] axis and the surface of the sample the character of the domain configuration suddenly changes, the classical geometry (Fig. 1) being replaced by a pattern in which the width of the domain is practically the same as the width of the Bloch wall. An attempt was also made at explaining this result on the basis of energy balance which led to Eq. 26 and Fig. 17, which is in good agreement with experiment.