Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

A tiny bit of attraction:magnetism atnanoscaleMagnetism at nanoscale makes it possible to develop new materialsin a completely new way: previously, it was necessary to applytime-consuming chemical, mechanical or heat treatments to allof the material to stimulate specifi c desired properties, includingmagnetism. Now, however, scientists can change the structureof the material at nanometre-atomic level, providing greateraccuracy as well as opening up a whole range of new excitingpossibilities. The result: new materials with properties that didnot exist before in nature.For instance, scientists are now able to alter magnetic orientationon this small scale, a modifi cation that has an impact ofmuch larger proportions. It is only thanks to a technologycalled perpendicular recording that personal computers arewhat they are today. Perpendicular recording – as opposedto traditional longitudinal recording – increases the storagedensity threefold on hard disks. The technology depends onaligning the poles of magnetic elements – they represent thedata bits – in the material at right angles to the disk. In thisway, more bits can be squeezed into the same space. Doingthis requires nanomagnetic know-how. Thanks to knowledgeof this kind, scientists like Professor Andrzej Maziewski, headof the Laboratory of Magnetism at the University of Bialystokin Poland (the network host) can create regions with differentmagnetic orientation, a magnetic pattern that can be adaptedas needed for specifi c applications.Small changes, but a huge leap in progressThis knowledge is not only essential to modern storage media,but also to innovative sensor applications and other technologies.In short, nanomagnetism has helped shape the modern world.‘It’s an exciting new area,’ says Professor Maziewski. As theNanomag-Lab coordinator, he has played his part in introducing14 Marie Curie Fellows and many more researchers to this area.Their study of metallic and semiconducting sub-micrometrethick fi lms within the Nanomag-Lab network has created greatinterest: 78 papers in internationally recognised journals andmore than 100 presentations at conferences in Europe, Japanand the United States.Creation of the out-of-plane magnetisation state after irradiation of a Co nano-wedge by laser light. This is a new type of magnetic writing – different designswere created by laser: paths, spots in both array and inscription. The image was registered by optical microscopy using the polar Kerr effect.241