Magnetic Multilayers And Giant Magnetoresistance: Fundamentals And Industrial Applications (springer Series In Surface Sciences)

Magneto-electronics is certainly one of the most rapidly expanding fields in basic research and industrial application. Magnetic multilayers are the key devices in this field; they allow the utilization of unique micromagnetic, magneto-optic, and magneto-electronic phenomena which cannot be realized on the basis of conventional materials. This book provides a detailed and well-balanced introduction to both the underlying physical fundamentals and the technological applications in terms of devices that are just entering the market or are of high industrial relevance for the near future. In particular, the employment of magnetic multilayers in magneto-optical recording, in GMR and spin-valve devices, and as configurations yielding a striking nonlinear magneto-optical response is discussed in a comprehensive way. This state-of-the-art review involves an extensive list of key references to original work and thus makes the vast knowledge already accumulated in the field accessible to the reader. Front Matter....Pages I-XI Introduction....Pages 1-12 Progress in Magnetooptical Data Storage....Pages 13-47 Layered Magnetic Structures: Interlayer Exchange Coupling and Giant Magnetoresistance....Pages 49-64 Giant Magnetoresistance in Exchange-Biased Spin-Valve Layered Structures and its Application in Read Heads....Pages 65-127 Experiments on the Perpendicular Giant Magnetoresistance in Magnetic Multilayers....Pages 129-177 Physics of and Methods for Studying Metallic Multilayers with Interlayer Exchange Coupling and GMR Response....Pages 179-262 Nonlinear Magnetooptics for Magnetic Thin Films....Pages 263-316 Back Matter....Pages 317-323 Magnetic multilayers is a rapidly growing and multidisciplinary field of research. The purpose of this book is to give a unified overview of recent progress, giving special emphasis to the most important industrial applications. A general introduction is followed by six chapters that describe a wide range of physical aspects, together with experimental and theoretical methods. Scientists and students alike will benefit from the comprehensive discussion of numerous devices and their physics. As the technology matures, these devices, for example spin valves and magnetic random access memories, are likely to become widely used. Introduction Progress in Magneto-Optical Data Storage Layered Magnetic Structures Giant Magnetoresistance in Exchange-Biased Spin Valve Layered Structures Experiments on the Perpendicular Giant Magnetoresistance in Magnetic Multilayers Physics of and Methods for Studying Metallic Multilayers with Interlayer Exchange Coupling and GMR Response Nonlinear Magneto-Optics for Magnetic Thin Films. This unified overview of recent progress in a growing, multi-disciplinary field places special emphasis on the industrial applications of magnetic multilayered materials. The text describes a wide range of physical aspects, together with experimental and theoretical methods.