Abstract
Amorphous Tb$_{x}$Co$_{100-x}$ magnetic alloys exhibit a list of intriguing properties, such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, high magneto-optical activity and magnetization switching using ultrashort optical pulses. Varying the Tb:Co ratio in these alloys allows for tuning properties such as the saturation magnetic moment, coercive field and the performance of the light-induced magnetization switching. In this work, we investigate the magnetic, optical and magneto-optical properties of various Tb$_{x}$Co$_{100-x}$ thin film alloy compositions. We report on the effect the choice of different seeding layers has on the structural and magnetic properties of Tb$_{x}$Co$_{100-x}$ layers. We also demonstrate that for a range of alloys, deposited on fused silica substrates, with Tb content of 24-30 at.$\%$, helicity dependent all-optical switching of magnetization can be achieved, albeit in a multi-shot framework. We explain this property to arise from the helicity-dependent laser induced magnetization on the Co sublattice due to the inverse Faraday effect. Our study provides an insight into material aspects for future potential hybrid magneto-plasmonic TbCo-based architectures.
Highlights
The development of magnetic memory storage devices was accelerated by advancements in nanofabrication and material preparation methods
We determined the composition and thickness ranges where the TbxCo100−x films exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), reporting that the magnetization compensation point at room temperature is around 23 at. % Tb for the samples deposited onto a fused silica or onto Al2O3 buffer layers, while the samples deposited onto Al80Zr20 have a compensation point around 20 at. % Tb
We further explored our parameter space for an optimal region for observation of HD-all-optical switching (AOS)
Summary
The development of magnetic memory storage devices was accelerated by advancements in nanofabrication and material preparation methods. Many studies have been carried out in the area of AOS, ranging from its observation in different classes of magnetic materials [3], such as ferrimagnetic alloys [4,5], compensated ferrimagnets [6], multilayers [7], and even ferromagnetic films [8,9] and ferro- and ferrimagnetic multilayers [10,11,12,13], e.g., Pt-sandwiched Co films [14], and Gd/Co bilayers [15], to the exploration of the parameter space for the observation of AOS
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