Magnetic Multilayers and Giant Magnetoresistance

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.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.