Recent advances in nanomagnetism and spin electronics

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This paper presents recent experimental advances in the field of nanomagnetism and spin electronics. It covers the period of the last decades during which fundamental discoveries such as giant magnetoresistance have been successfully transferred to industrial applications. Such results could be obtained thanks to the improvements of thin film deposition and lithography techniques. Present preparation efforts are now oriented towards lateral size reduction of continuous layers in order to minimize the size of potential devices, as well as to understand better the basic mechanisms of magnetic interactions. At the same time, experimental techniques such as magneto-optic microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, polarized photoelectron spectroscopies or magnetotransport have accomplished significant progress, allowing us to observe in detail magnetic configurations of nanostructures and their magnetoresistive response.