Magnetic force microscope (MFM) tips are prepared by coating Si tips of 4 nm radius with FePd, FePt, and CoPt films of 80 nm thickness at room temperature followed by annealing at 600 degrees C. The spatial resolution and the switching field are investigated. The resolution of about 9 nm is realized for all the tips. On the contrary, the switching fields of FePd-, FePt-, and CoPt- coated tips are 117.4, 37.8, and 268.6 kA/m, respectively. The crystal structure and the magnetic properties of coated magnetic thin films prepared on flat Si substrates are measured and the interrelationships with the MFM tip characteristics are briefly investigated. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.