Orthogonal bistable magnetic domains in Co/Au(1 1 1)

The thickness-driven spin-reorientation transition of Co/Au(1 1 1) is studied via in situ Kerr microscopy. On varying the premagnetization conditions in external field of in-plane or normal orientation, the magnetic switching into a final remanent state from an in-plane field is investigated. The quantitative analysis of the Kerr rotation derived from Kerr microscopy images allows the determination of the population of different magnetic phases...