  Domain wall propagation has been measured in continuous, weakly disordered,
quasi-two-dimensional, Ising-like magnetic layers that are subject to spatially
periodic domain wall pinning potentials. The potentials are generated
non-destructively using the stray magnetic field of ordered arrays of
magnetically hard [Co/Pt]$_m$ nanoplatelets which are patterned above and are
physically separated from the continuous magnetic layer. The effect of the
periodic pinning potentials on thermally activated domain wall creep dynamics
is shown to be equivalent, at first approximation, to that of a uniform,
effective retardation field, $H_{ret}$, which acts against the applied field,
$H$. We show that $H_{ret}$ depends not only on the array geometry but also on
the relative orientation of $H$ and the magnetization of the nanoplatelets. A
result of the latter dependence is that wall-mediated hysteresis loops obtained
for a set nanoplatelet magnetization exhibit many properties that are normally
associated with ferromagnet/antiferromagnet exchange bias systems. These
include a switchable bias, coercivity enhancement and domain wall roughness
that is dependent on the applied field polarity.
