The Handbook of Magnetic Materials has a dual purpose. As a textbook it is intended to be of assistance to those who wish to be introduced to a given topic in the field of magnetism without the need to read the vast amount of literature published. As a work of reference it is intended for scientists active in magnetism research. To this purpose the handbook is composed of topical review articles written by leading authorities. In each of these articles an extensive description is given in graphical as well as in tabular form, much emphasis being placed on the discussion of the experimental material in the framework of physics, chemistry and materials science. Volume 7 of the Handbook of Magnetic Materials provides an overview of some of the most exciting topics in magnetism today. Firstly, a substantial step forward in the understanding of metallic magnetism has been reached by means of electronic band structure calculation. Progress in this area has been made not only due to the availability of high speed computing machines but also due to sophistication in the computational methodology. In Volume 7 of the Handbook two chapters are devoted to this subject, one of which is devoted to the elements and the other dealing primarily with 4f and 5f systems, including examples of the large group of intermetallic compounds. In both chapters the authors have concentrated on explaining the physics behind these band calculations. The chapters are written in a manner understandable to scientists having no experience with band calculations. Thin film technology has become a key issue in high density magnetic and magneto-optical recording and will be dealt with in future volumes of the Handbook. The present volume introduces the field with a chapter on the magnetism of ultrathin transition metal films, describing the richness in novel magnetic phenomens that has been encountered in the past few years in these materials. Of equal interest are the novel magnetic phenomena observed when magnetic moments are incorporated in a semiconducting matrix. A comprehensive description of these materials is found in the chapter on diluted magnetic semiconductors. A separate chapter is devoted to the progress made in the field of heavy fermions and valence fluctuations, emphasis being placed on the important results obtained by means of neutron scattering. A detailed review of the progress made in the field of rare earth based intermetallic compounds in combination with 3d transition metals completes this mulfaceted volume.

Author Biography

Professor Kurt Heinz Jurgen Buschow is a member of the Experimental Physics Department of the University of Amsterdam, where he teaches Magnetism and Magnetic Materials. He studied Physical Chemistry at the Free University of Amsterdam, starting in 1954. After having received his M.Sc. degree in 1960 he prepared his thesis work dealing with "Ion-pair Formation with Polyacene Mono and Dinegative Ions". He received his Ph.D. degree at the Free University in 1963. In 1964 he held a research position at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven. He was appointed Senior Scientist in 1976 and Chief Scientist in 1988. His research activities comprised fundamental as well as applied aspects. During this period he stayed for one year (1977) as a guest scientist at the Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.Y. In March 1994 he left the Philips Research Laboratories, taking a position at the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam and having simultaneously a part-time professorship at the University of Leiden. His teaching activities are in the field of Metal Physics and Magnetic Materials. He has published more than 1100 papers in international scientific journals and is author of several review papers and handbook chapters on magnetic materials, metal hydrides and amorphous alloys. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Advisory Editor of the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials and is also Editor of the Series Handbook Magnetic Materials. Recently he became one of the Editors-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology.