Magnetic domain-wall motion study under an electric field in a Finemet thin film on flexible substrate

Influence of applied in-plane elastic strains on the static magnetic configuration of a 530 nm magnetostrictive FeCuNbSiB thin film. The in-plane strains are induced via the application of a voltage to a piezoelectric actuator on which the film/substrate system was glued. A quantitative characterization of the voltage dependence of the induced-strain at the surface of the film was performed using a digital image correlation technique. MFM images at remanence (H=0 Oe and U=0 V) clearly reveal the presence of weak stripe domains. The effect of the voltage-induced strain shows the existence of a threshold value above, which the break of the stripe configuration set in. For a maximum strain of exx~0.5*10-3 we succeed in destabilizing the stripes configuration helping the setting up of a complete homogeneous magnetic pattern.