ABSTRACT
Magnetic nanostructures, such as nanodots, nanowires, and thin
films play an important role in information technologies, energy
resources, and life sciences. Conventional electronic devices are
based on the property of the electron charge, mainly ignoring the
spin inherent in each electron. Devices that rely on an electron spin
to perform their functions form the foundation of “spintronics” [1-
4]. Examples of spintronic phenomena are giant magnetoresistance
(GMR) [5, 6] and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) [7, 8], the
former of which is currently used in computer reading heads and
the latter of which is intended for the next generation of random
access memory (RAM)—magnetic RAM. These advances have been
due to new discoveries and a better understanding of magnetic
and electronic properties of magnetic nanostructures. Driven by
the wish to realize the proposed concepts of future spintronic
devices the development of novel nanostructures and nanomaterials
with tailored electronic and magnetic properties has become a
key challenge of today’s research. A promising path to control the
magnetic properties of matter is to use low-dimensional systems
and to reduce their size down to the nanometer or even atomic scale.
There are a number of issues that need to be explored for these
low-dimensional systems-the problem of finite size scaling, the
superparamagnetic limit, and the proximity effect to othermaterials.
Understanding magnetism on the atomic scale offers opportunities
for future devices. The development of new magnetic materials is
crucial for creating opportunities for the next generation of sensors
and devices.
