Abstract
The authors experimentally resolve the pulse- and temperature-dependent limits of single-shot alloptical magnetic switching in the compensated three dimensional ferrimagnet, revealing that the process is driven by exchange relaxation.
Highlights
Discovering how ultrashort laser pulses can manipulate magnetic materials on nonequilibrium timescales is a key goal of both ultrafast magnetism [1,2] and spintronics [3,4]
As a point of comparison, we studied a GdFeCo thin film structure Si3N4(60)/Gd25Fe65.6Co9.4(20)/Si3N4(5)/glass, which compensates at 320 K [32], and is known to exhibit singleshot All-optical switching (AOS) [6]
We found that switching can be achieved using far-infrared pulses, showing that the half metallicity of MRG is not an obstacle to the process, and suggesting that demagnetization of both sublattices evolves via exchange relaxation
Summary
Discovering how ultrashort laser pulses can manipulate magnetic materials on nonequilibrium timescales is a key goal of both ultrafast magnetism [1,2] and spintronics [3,4]. All-optical switching (AOS) of magnetization using a single ultrashort laser pulse in the absence of a magnetic field [5] was first identified in amorphous ferrimagnetic Gdx(FeCo)100−x thin films (hereafter referred to as GdFeCo) in 2012 [6]. Advances in the synthesis of fully compensated half metals [9] have recently resulted in the breakthrough discovery that ≈ 200-fs-long pulses can activate single-shot AOS in thin films of the Heusler alloy Mn2RuxGa [10] (hereafter referred to as MRG). In combination with its half metallicity [9], the potential to feature a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy field above 10 T and highly efficient intrinsic spinorbit torques [11] due to the absence of structural inversion symmetry, MRG’s ability to be switched all-optically renders it a compelling candidate for integration in future ultrafast spintronic technology [12,13,14]. While GdFeCo and MRG are both ferrimagnetic metals exhibiting compensation points where the constituent sublattices have equal but opposite magnetization [15], there are important material
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.