Influence of internal geometry on magnetization reversal in asymmetric permalloy rings.

We report the magnetization reversal behavior of microstructured Ni80Fe20 rings using magneto-optic indicator film imaging and magnetometry. While the reversal behavior of rings with a symmetric (circular) interior hole agrees with micromagnetic simulations of an onion → vortex → onion transition, we experimentally demonstrate that rings possessing an elliptical hole with an aspect ratio of 2 exhibit complex reversal behavior comprising incoherent domain propagation in the rings. Magneto optic images reveal metastable magnetic configurations that illustrate this incoherent behavior. These results have important implications for understanding the reversal behavior of asymmetric ferromagnetic rings.