Experimental investigations of spin-polarized electron confinement in nanostructures by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) are reviewed. To appreciate the experimental results on the electronic level, the physical basis of STM is elucidated with special emphasis on the correlation between differential conductance, as measured by STS, and the electron d...

The study of exchange bias in nanostructures is interesting from both fundamental and technological points of view. From a fundamental point of view, the reduction of the lateral dimensions in ferromagnetic (FM)-antiferromagnetic (AFM) systems can cause significant alterations of the domain structure of the layers, hence leading to substantial changes in the magnitudes of the exchange bias fiel...

Magnetic nanostructures of different size, shape, and composition possess a great potential to improve current technologies like data storage and electromagnetic sensing. In thin ferromagnetic nanowires, their magnetization behavior is dominated by the competition between magnetocrystalline anisotropy (related to the crystalline structure) and shape anisotropy. In this way electron diffraction ...

Ferromagnetic nanostructures have been electrodeposited within the pores of porous silicon templates with average pore diameters between 25 and 60 nm. In this diameter regime, the pore formation in general is accompanied by dendritic growth resulting in rough pore walls, which involves metal deposits also offering a branched structure. These side branches influence the magnetic properties of th...

Perovskite oxide manganites with a general formula of R1-x AxMnO3 (where R is a trivalent rare-earth element such as La, Pr, Sm, and A is a divalent alkaline-earth element such as Ca, Sr, and Ba) have received much attention due to their unusual electron-transport and magnetic properties, which are indispensable for applications in microelectronic, magnetic, and spintronic devices. Recent advan...

Electron-beam-mediated postsynthesis doping of boron-nitride nanostructures with carbon atoms [Nature (London) 464, 571 (2010); J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 13 692 (2010)] was recently demonstrated, thus opening a new way to control the electronic properties of these systems. Using density-functional theory static and dynamic calculations, we show that the substitution process is governed not only by...