Foreword

Abstract

The fifteenth International Colloquium on Magnetic Films and Surfaces (ICMFS 1997) was held in Queensland, Australia from 4-8 August 1997. It was a satellite meeting of the International Conference on Magnetism (ICM) which took place during the preceding week. The aim of the Colloquium was to bring together scientists working on magnetic films and surfaces and to deepen the mutual understanding of their common subjects. ICMFS began life in 1964 and recently Colloquia have been held on a triennial basis. The scope of the latest meeting included preparation and structural characterization, electronic structure, interlayer coupling, giant magnetoresistance, magneto-optical phenomena, anisotropy, novel characterization, measurement and imaging techniques, nanomagnetism and microfabrication, and applications. Fourteen invited speakers introduced major topics. In the cluster of papers presented here we have manuscripts arising from seven of the invited talks. These form an excellent cross section of some of the exciting advances currently taking place in the field of magnetic thin films and surfaces. We are grateful to the authors for providing access to their work in this way and hope that the readership finds the group an interesting snapshot of some of the directions currently most relevant to the Applied Magnetism and Magnetic Materials section of the journal. John Chapman Section Editor 17 February 1998