K.Sato, T.Ishibashi, T.Yoshida, J.Yamamoto, A.Iijima, Y.Mitsuoka, and K.Nakajima
Proc. Magneto-Optical Int. Symposium '99, Monterey, Jan. 10-13, 1999; J. Magn. Soc. Jpn. 23, Suppl. S1 (1999) (to be published)

A scanning near-field magneto-optical microscope using a bent-type fiber probe operating as an AFM cantilever has been investigated for magneto-optical imaging. Using a polarization modulation technique, the signal to noise ratio as well as the contrast ratio of the image was much improved. Stokes parameters of the probe were evaluated, from which suitable compensation for polarization transmission was performed. This provides a possibility of obtaining quantitative evaluation of magneto-optical parameters in the sub-micrometer region. A Clear MO image of recorded marks on a Pt/Co disk was obtained with 100 nm resolution.
Key words: scanning near-field microscope, magneto-optical imaging, sub-micrometer region, Pt/Co magneto-optical disk