Magnetism of electrodeposited ultrathin layers: Challenges and opportunities

The magnetism in ultrathin films and multilayers is an active field of research in strong relationship with applications. Advances in the understanding of such systems came from an improved control of growth modes and detailed structural studies coupled with magnetic measurements, especially in the UHV environment. Thanks to the development of in situ methods, similar studies can now be conducted in the electrolytic environment and investigating the magnetism of nanostructures on the nanometre scale has become a reality. After a brief review of our work about the epitaxial growth and magnetism of ultrathin magnetic layers of Ni, Co and Fe on Au(1 1 1), with an emphasis on the early stages of their electrochemical growth, this article introduces ongoing works which draw attention about the specificity and the opportunities offered by the electrochemical interface.