Femtosecond laser-induced spin dynamics in single-layer graphene/CoFeB thin films.

Abstract

Graphene/ferromagnet hybrid heterostructures are important building blocks of spintronics due to the unique ability of graphene to transport spin current over unprecedented distances and possible increase in its spin-orbit coupling due to proximity and hybridization. Here, we present magnetization dynamics over a femtosecond to nanosecond timescale by employing an all-optical time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique in single-layer graphene (SLG)/CoFeB thin films with varying CoFeB thickness and compared them with reference CoFeB thin films without an SLG underlayer. Gilbert damping variation with CoFeB thickness is modelled to extract spin-mixing conductance for the SLG/CoFeB interface and isolate the two-magnon scattering contribution from spin pumping. In SLG/CoFeB, we have established an inverse relationship between ultrafast demagnetization time (τm) and the Gilbert damping parameter (α) induced by interfacial spin accumulation and pure spin-current transport via a spin pumping mechanism. This systematic study of ultrafast demagnetization in SLG/CoFeB heterostructures and its connection with magnetic damping can help to design graphene-based ultrahigh-speed spintronic devices.