Description
Selected modern aspects of artificially layered structures and bulk materials involving antiferromagnetic long-range order are the main themes of this book. Special emphasis is laid on the prototypical behavior of Ising-type model systems. They play a crucial role in the field of statistical physics and, in addition, contribute to the basic understanding of the exchange bias phenomenon in MBE-grown magnetic heterosystems. Throughout the book, particular attention is given to the interplay between experimental results and their theoretical description, ranging from the famous Lee-Yang theory of phase transitions to novel mechanisms of exchange bias. Introduction.- Part I: Model Systems in Statistical Physics.- Ising-type antiferromagnets: model systems in statistical physics.- Part II: Exchange Bias.- Ferromagnetic thin films for perpendicular and planar exchange bias systems.- Exchange bias in magnetic heterosystems.- Summary.
