Separation of magnetic and topographic effects in force microscopy

Several techniques are presented which allow magnetic force microscopy to be performed while simultaneously mapping the surface topographic features of a magnetic sample. The separation of magnetic and topographic features measured simultaneously with a scanning force microscope is made possible by an instrument based on a differential interferometer that can detect cantilever deflections of 0.005 nm at a frequency as low as 1 Hz. Two different applications are presented.