SIZE AND INTERFACE EFFECTS IN PATTERNED MAGNETIC AND SUPERCONDUCTING THIN FILMS

摘要

An overview is presented of magnetic, electrical transport, and ferromagnetic resonance studies of thin films of superconducting and magnetic materials with patterned features that are laterally confined on the scale of 10 nm to 1 μm. Emphasis is given to finite-size and correlation effects found at the limiting size scale of stability of long-range magnetic order, and the power of superconductivity as a probe of nanoscale magnetism. A summary is given of state-of-art methods of fabricating highly ordered arrays of ferromagnetic features precisely patterned by electron beam and laser interference techniques. Certain directions for future research in the theoretical description of small magnetic features, and the crucial role of mesoscale phenomena in nanotechnology are discussed.