Nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation: Applications in magnetism of layered structures

Nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation has become an established tool within condensed-matter research. Synchrotron radiation with its outstanding brilliance, transverse coherence and polarization has opened this field for many unique studies, for fundamental research in the field of light-matter interaction as well as for materials science. This applies in particular for the electronic and magnetic structure of very small sample volumes like micro- and nano-structures and samples under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. This article is devoted to the application of the technique to nanomagnetic systems such as thin films and multilayers. After a basic introduction into the method, a number of our experiments are presented to illustrate how magnetic spin structures within such layer systems can be revealed.