Observation of magnetic forces by the atomic force microscope

We present a new way to observe the surface domain distribution of a magnetic sample at a submicrometer scale. This magnetic microscopy is based on the idea of measuring magnetic forces with the recently developed atomic force microscope (AFM). We study the magnetic forces involved in the interaction between a single-domain microtip and the sample surface magnetic domains. The influence of the experimental conditions on the performance of the AFM as a magnetic profiling device is also discussed. Preliminary experimental results are reported.