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Since the discovery of spin torque in 1996, independently by Berger and Slonczewski, and given its potential impact on information storage and communication technologies, (e.g. through the possibility of switching the magnetic configuration of a bit by current instead of a magnetic field, or the realization of high frequency spin torque oscillators (STO)), this effect has been an important field of spintronics research. One aspect of this research focuses on ferromagnets with low damping. The lower the damping in a ferromagnet, the lower the critical current that is needed to induce switching of a spin valve or induce precession of its magnetization. NiMnSb with its good properties, namely low magnetic damping in combination with a high spin-polarization, is a promising candidate for such devices.

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The author studied nanostructuretechnique at the university of Wuerzburg and did his PhD at the department of experimental physics III. The focus of his work was on the fabrication and characterisation of spin-valve structures based on the half-metal NiMnSb.

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