En las fronteras de la Materia Condensada

It has only recently become possible to pattern materials at the sub-micron length scale. There is currently a very large international effort directed to fabrication, characterization, and property determination of these novel systems. After a brief summary of existing techniques suitable for investigating nano-scale magnetic particles, I will describe a new technique, Diffracted Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (D-MOKE), that we have developed for the study of magnetic properties of sub-micron magnetic arrays. D-MOKE results from dot arrays of circles, squares and rings, and from arrays of elliptical and square holes will be presented. Analysis of the results allows the metastable magnetic structures that form during magnetization reversal to be ascertained. Of particular interest is the vortex state that forms in circular disks and the 'band' domains in hole arrays.