The spatial extent zeta(AFM) and strength J(AFM) of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange coupling at buried Gd /Fe interfaces in ferrimagnetic [Gd(50 A)Fe(15,35 A)](15) sputtered multilayers is obtained from combined x-ray resonance magnetic reflectivity and magnetic circular dichroism measurements. zeta(AFM) is 4.1(7) A or approximately 1-2 interatomic distances in bulk Gd and Fe; J(AFM) is 10...

All atomic force microscope (AFM) images suffer from distortions, which are principally produced by the interaction between the measured sample and the AFM tip. The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a very important instrument for use in nanotechnology and biology since it can be used to measure a wide variety of objects, such as nano-particles and cells, either in air or liquid. However, the im...

Since the 1980s, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has rapidly developed into a versatile, high-resolution characterization technique, available in a variety of imaging modes. Within intermittent-contact tapping-mode, imaging bistability and sample mechanical damage continue to be two of the most important challenges faced daily by AFM users. Recently, a new double-control-loop tapping-mode imaging...

Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like topological excitations in ferromagnets, which have the topo-logical number Q = ± 1, and hence show the skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE) due to the Magnus force effect originating from the topology. Here, we propose the counterpart of the magnetic skyrmion in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) system, that is, the AFM skyrmion, which is topologically protected but witho...

One of the key goals in atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging is to enhance material property contrast with high resolution. Bimodal AFM, where two eigenmodes are simultaneously excited, confers significant advantages over conventional single-frequency tapping mode AFM due to its ability to provide contrast between regions with different material properties under gentle imaging conditions. Bimo...