Ion beams for magnetic thin film applications

Due to the reduced dimension, the magnetic properties of ultrathin magnetic films and multilayers, e.g. magnetic anisotropies and exchange coupling, often depend strongly on the surface and interface structure. In addition chemical composition, crystallinity, grain sizes and their distribution govern the magnetic behaviour. All these structural properties can be modified by light-ion irradiation in an energy range from 5 - 150 keV due to the energy loss of the ions in the solid along their trajectory. Consequently the magnetic properties can be tailored by ion irradiation. Due to the local nature of the interaction, magnetic patterning without affecting the surface topography becomes feasible, which may have an applied interest. In contrast to topographic nanostructures the surrounding area of these nanostructures can be left ferromagnetic leading to new phenomena at their mutual interface. An overview over the present status will be presented.