Vortex phase boundaries from ferromagnetic measurements in a patterned disc array

Using a recently developed broadband microwave measurement technique, we have studied the hysteretic appearance and disappearance with in-plane magnetic field of the uniform ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) mode of a patterned permalloy disk array. The observed features are consistent with our micromagnetic simulations (performed on an infinite array of such disk), which predict that on decreasing the magnetic field from a positively magnetized state at positive fields the array will: (i) pass continuously into a double-vortex state; (ii) followed by a discontinuous transition to a single-vortex state; and finally (iii) discontinuously into a negatively magnetized state at some negative field. The hysteretic counterpart occurs on reversing the field sweep and returning to positive fields. The FMR data are consistent with the hysteretic dc magnetization measurements performed earlier on samples patterned in an identical manner.