The Symposium on Magnetic Ultrathin Films, Multilayers and Surfaces, hosted by the European Materials Research Society, was held at the Palais de la Musique et des Congré in Strasbourg, France on June 4-7, 1996. Its central theme was the relationship of magnetic properties and device performance to structure at the nano and micrometer length scale. Research on the magnetism of surfaces, ultrathin films and multilayers has increased dramatically during recent years. This development was triggered by the discovery of coupling between ferromagnetic layers across nonmagnetic spacer layers and of the giant magnetoresistance effect in systems of reduced dimension using various micro and nanofabrication techniques has become a subject of special interest. It is certainly the promising application potential of these effects in new magnetic recording device geometries which causes this intensive research, which is done both by companies and at universities and research institutes. A selection of invited and contributed papers presented at the Symposium and accepted for publication is contained in this volume. The contents of these proceedings are organized into seven sections. A. Nanowires, Nanoparticles, Nanostructuring B. Ultrathin Films and Surfaces, Characterization C. Giant Magnetoresistance D. Coupling, Tunneling E. Growth, Structure, Magnetism F. Growth, Structure, Magnetoresistance G. Coupling, Magnetic processes, Magneto-optics. The first four sections contain invited and oral contributed papers in the listed research domains, while the last three sections contain the contributions presented during three large poster sessions.

The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners.

Proceedings of the March 1997 symposium, the central thrust being the relationship of magnetic properties and device performance to structure at the atomic, nanometer, and submicron length scales in these systems of reduced dimensionality. The 89 contributions cover the following topics: synthesis, processing, and characterization; novel applications and approaches for magnetism; nano-microstructure and magnetic properties; structure and properties--mixing, strain, and steps; nanoscale magnetic confinement, particles, and arrays; magnetization reversal and domain structure; synthesis and characterization; synchrotron radiation studies of magnetic materials; magneto-optical properties, effects, and measurements; magnetic phenomena; CMR and tunneling; and interlayer coupling and spin polarization. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR