The reversal mechanisms of graded anisotropy FePtCu films have been investigated by alternating gradient magnetometer ͑AGM͒ and magneto-optical Kerr effect ͑MOKE͒ measurements with first-order reversal curve ͑FORC͒ techniques. The AGM-FORC analysis, which clearly shows the presence of soft and hard components, is unable to resolve how these phases are distributed throughout the film thickness. MOKE-FORC measurements, which preferentially probe the surface of the film, reveal that the soft components are indeed located toward the top surface. Combining AGM-FORC with the inherent surface sensitivity of MOKE-FORC analysis allows for a comprehensive analysis of heterogeneous systems such as graded materials. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. ͓doi:10.1063/1.3515907͔Graded anisotropy materials 1,2 have joined the ranks of tilted 3,4 and exchange coupled composite 5 ͑ECC͒ recording media as possible solutions to the magnetic recording trilemma, 6,7 where simultaneously balancing the thermal stability and signal-to-noise ratio with the writability of a given bit is necessary. Energy-assisted recording techniques, such as heat-assisted magnetic recording 8 and microwave-assisted magnetic recording, 9 rely on adding energy to the media in order to temporarily surmount the switching barrier with modest applied fields. In graded materials, which are predicted to provide additional gains in writability over conventional bilayer hard/soft ECC media, the anisotropy is systematically varied such that the switching field is reduced by the low anisotropy layers, while the high anisotropy layers preserve thermal stability. There have been few reports, mostly based on rather thick multilayered structures, on the successful creation of graded materials.10-14 However, the realization of a continuous anisotropy gradient was recently achieved in properly annealed compositionally graded thin FePtCu films. 15 In conjunction with the fabrication, the subsequent analysis of graded materials is not trivial and often requires complicated measurement apparatuses. For example, the inherent depth sensitivity of polarized neutron reflectivity measurements has recently been used to directly probe the anisotropy gradient of multilayered Co/Pd samples. 12,13 In this letter, we report on a relatively simple measurement and analysis technique that combines first-order reversal curve ͑FORC͒ 16-22 measurements with the inherent surface sensitivity of the magneto-optical Kerr effect ͑MOKE͒ to analyze FePtCu films with a continuously graded anisotropy. In addition to providing a useful qualitative fingerprint of the magnetization reversal mechanisms, the FORC techniques are able to extract a wealth of quantitative information not readily accessible from standard major loop or remanence curve analysis. For example, information on distributions of key magnetic parameters, interactions, and phase identification in a variety of bulk, thin film, and patterned systems has been shown. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22] To date, however, FORC analysis has focused ...