Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings. Volume 746. Magnetoelectronics and Magnetic Materials - Novel Phenomena and Advanced Characterization

Book excerpt: The papers in this volume are drawn from Symposium Q, "Magnetoelectronics-Novel Magnetic Phenomena in Nanostructures," and Symposium R, "Advanced Characterization of Artificially Structured Magnetic Materials," which were held December 1-5 at the 2002 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The common focus of interest was on artificially engineered nanostructured magnetic systems. The two symposia discussed new phenomena in such systems that are interesting for magnetoelectronic applications, their preparation, and advanced methodology for characterization. Interest in nanomagnetism has been catalyzed by advances in two fields of research: (i) Advances in materials synthesis of structures whose length scales transcend magnetic length scales and open the possibility for creating materials with new magnetic properties. Such structures include interfaces, superlattices, tunneling devices, nanostructures, and single-molecule magnets. (ii) Advances in sample characterization techniques for nanomagnetism allow detailed exploration of structure-property relationships in nanostructured magnetic systems. The symposia reviewed current trends in both fields, and provided a forum for discussions about the outlook for further advances and new capabilities.