Magnetism and Magneto-Optics of Novel Nanoscaled Materials

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w:\awards\awards96\*.doc 9623992 Sellmyer This research program is directed towards advancing our understanding of magnetism and magneto-optic phenomena in novel nanoscaled materials. The types of structures to be studied include nanocrystalline and metastable-phase compounds and alloys, and novel multilayer and particulate nanocomposite systems. Special attention will be paid to the thin-film synthesis of these materials by epitaxial stabilization of nanoscaled crystal structures which do not exist in bulk form, and by rapid thermal-processing methods. A significant emphasis of this program is on fundamental understanding of the inter- particle or inter-grain interactions, phase-transition and coercivity behavior, and electronic structure and magneto-optical properties of these novel materials. %%% The synthesis and control of the magnetic properties of thin films play an extremely important role in modern science and society. A significant aspect of this is our growing ability to artificially structure novel materials at the nanometer scale (1 nanometer equals about four atomic diameters) and to fabricate such materials into devices with properties and applications which were hardly imagined only a decade ago. A large part of the interest in nanoscaled magnetic films is stimulated by information storage and magnetoelectronic devices. In recent decades the information density in computer hard disk drives has been increasing at the rate of about a factor of 10 every 10 years and recently the rate has increased. This progress is dependent on major advances in understanding and control of nanostructured magnetic materials, which is the subject of this research. ***