Wetting phenomena are ubiquitous in nature and technology. A solid substrate exposed to the environment is almost invariably covered by a layer of fluid material. In this review, the surface forces that lead to wetting are considered, and the equilibrium surface coverage of a substrate in contact with a drop of liquid. Depending on the nature of the surface forces involved, different scenarios for wetting phase transitions are possible; recent progress allows us to relate the critical exponents directly to the nature of the surface forces which lead to the different wetting scenarios. Thermal fluctuation effects, which can be greatly enhanced for wetting of geometrically or chemically structured substrates, and are much stronger in colloidal suspensions, modify the adsorption singularities. Macroscopic descriptions and microscopic theories have been developed to understand and predict wetting behavior relevant to microfluidics and nanofluidics applications. Then the dynamics of wetting is examined. A drop, placed on a substrate which it wets, spreads out to form a film. Conversely, a nonwetted substrate previously covered by a film dewets upon an appropriate change of system parameters. The hydrodynamics of both wetting and dewetting is influenced by the presence of the three-phase contact line separating "wet" regions from those that are either dry or covered by a microscopic film only. Recent theoretical, experimental, and numerical progress in the description of moving contact line dynamics are reviewed, and its relation to the thermodynamics of wetting is explored. In addition, recent progress on rough surfaces is surveyed. The anchoring of contact lines and contact angle hysteresis are explored resulting from surface inhomogeneities. Further, new ways to mold wetting characteristics according to technological constraints are discussed, for example, the use of patterned surfaces, surfactants, or complex fluids.

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Wetting and Spreading

The contribution that the technique of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) has made to the understanding of the magnetic behaviour of ultrathin single films is reviewed. Experimental methods to measure FMR in situ in ultrahigh vacuum are presented. The temperature dependence of the magnetization, of the magnetic relaxation rate in the vicinity of the Curie temperature, and of the second- and fourth-order magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) constants can be measured by FMR in situ for magnetic monolayers. Using the cases of Ni/Cu(001) and Gd/W(110) as examples, the role of the MAE for the quantitative description of temperature- and thickness-dependent reorientation transitions of the magnetization is discussed. Initial results for the anisotropy of the g-factor which is related to the anisotropy of the orbital moment (and the MAE) are presented.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/61/7/001/pdf

Ferromagnetic resonance of ultrathin metallic layers

This article reviews static and dynamic interfacial effects in magnetism, focusing on interfacially-driven magnetic effects and phenomena associated with spin-orbit coupling and intrinsic symmetry breaking at interfaces. It provides a historical background and literature survey, but focuses on recent progress, identifying the most exciting new scientific results and pointing to promising future research directions. It starts with an introduction and overview of how basic magnetic properties are affected by interfaces, then turns to a discussion of charge and spin transport through and near interfaces and how these can be used to control the properties of the magnetic layer. Important concepts include spin accumulation, spin currents, spin transfer torque, and spin pumping. An overview is provided to the current state of knowledge and existing review literature on interfacial effects such as exchange bias, exchange spring magnets, spin Hall effect, oxide heterostructures, and topological insulators. The article highlights recent discoveries of interface-induced magnetism and non-collinear spin textures, non-linear dynamics including spin torque transfer and magnetization reversal induced by interfaces, and interfacial effects in ultrafast magnetization processes.

https://link.aps.org/accepted/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.025006

Interface-induced phenomena in magnetism

Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) technology combines a spintronic device with standard silicon-based microelectronics to obtain a combination of attributes not found in any other memory technology. Key attributes of MRAM technology are nonvolatility and unlimited read and write endurance. Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices have several advantages over other magnetoresistive devices for use in MRAM cells, such as a large signal for the read operation and a resistance that can be tailored to the circuit. Due to these attributes, MTJ MRAM can operate at high speed and is expected to have competitive densities when commercialized. In this paper, we review our recent progress in the development of MTJ-MRAM technology. We describe how the memory operates, including significant aspects of reading, writing, and integration of the magnetic material with CMOS, which enabled our recent demonstration of a 1-Mbit memory chip. Important memory attributes are compared between MRAM and other memory technologies.

Magnetoresistive random access memory using magnetic tunnel junctions

(1993). Ultrathin metallic magnetic films: magnetic anisotropies and exchange interactions. Advances in Physics: Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 523-639.

Ultrathin metallic magnetic films: magnetic anisotropies and exchange interactions

Ferromagnetic resonance measurements in Co films of 11.3, 20, and 80 A\r{} thickness sandwiched by Au have been made as a function of the dc magnetic field orientation in a plane perpendicular to the film. These polycrystalline films were measured to have the hcp structure with the c axis perpendicular to the film plane within a few degrees. The experimental results are well explained by a theoretical model where an axial magnetic anisotropy up to the second-order term is included.

Ferromagnetic resonance studies of very thin cobalt films on a gold substrate.

Magnetization reversal in ultrathin ferromagnetic films with perpendicular anisotropy

We present magnetoresistance (MR) measurements performed on two Au/Co/Au sandwiches with ultrathin cobalt layers (0.32 and 0.76 nm) and on a bilayer Au/Co/Au/Co/Au (0.75 nm Co). The easy magnetization axis is shown to be perpendicular to the films, in agreement with previous magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance measurements. The hysteretic behavior is easily observed by measuring the MR, leading to a determination of the coercive fields of a few ${10}^{2}$G. The Co bilayer exhibits a drastic enhancement of the MR effect with respect to the corresponding monolayer ($\ensuremath{\delta}\frac{R}{R=1.3%}$ at 300 K and 3% at 4.2 K) and a square hysteresis loop. Different mechanisms for the enhancement of the MR are proposed.

Enhanced magnetoresistance of ultrathin (Au/Co)n multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy.

Magneto-optical effects in Au/Co/Au ultrathin film sandwiches

http://www.gm.univ-montp2.fr/spip/IMG/pdf/JMMM_115_L147.pdf

D. Renard

Papers

Ferromagnetic resonance studies of very thin cobalt films on a gold substrate.

Magnetization reversal in ultrathin ferromagnetic films with perpendicular anisotropy

Enhanced magnetoresistance of ultrathin (Au/Co)n multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy.

Magneto-optical effects in Au/Co/Au ultrathin film sandwiches

Large magnetoresistance effects in UHV grown fcc (111) Co/Cu multilayers