The course introduces students to magnetic materials demonstrating their technological application of information storage, e.g. hard disk drives and spin-electronics, e.g. magnetic tunnel junctions.

The first part of the course explains the motivation for the course in terms Materials Engineering, demonstrating their use in the information storage industry and its place within the electronics industry. Then, basic physical definitions required for characterizing magnetic materials are described.

The second part discusses quantum mechanical aspects of magnetic materials, in the form of Hund’s rules as well as molecular field theory of magnetic materials.

The third part of the course discusses magnetic properties of ferromagnetic metals focusing on the Slater-Pauling curve, and discussing qualitatively the band structure of these materials in the form of the rigid-band model.

The fourth part of the course discusses energy contributions in magnetic materials that can explain their micromagnetic structure. Understanding these energy terms then enables to discuss the formation of domain walls and the mechanism of magnetization reversal, in particular the Stoner-Wohlfarth theory. Experimental methods for measuring macro-magnetic properties and imaging domains are presented.

The fifth part of the course discusses the magnetic structure in fine particles leading to the nanometer scale magnetic phenomenon of superparamagnetism.

The sixth part reviews soft and hard magnetic materials including applications.

The final section applies theoretical background to explain magnetic storage devices and spin electronic devices.