No Arabic abstract
We use time-resolved x-ray resonant magnetic scattering (tr-XRMS) at the Co M$_{2,3}$- and Tb O$_1$-edges to study ultrafast demagnetization in an amorphous Co$_{88}$Tb$_{12}$ alloy with stripe domains. Combining the femtosecond temporal with nanometer spatial resolution of our experiment, we demonstrate that the equilibrium spin texture of the thin film remains unaltered by the optical pump-pulse on ultrashort timescales ($<$1 ps). However, after $simeq$ 4 ps, we observe the onset of a significant domain wall broadening, which we attribute to a reduction of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of the system, due to energy transfer to the lattice. Static temperature dependent magnetometry measurements combined with analytical modeling of the magnetic structure of the thin film corroborate this interpretation.
Ever since its discovery in 1996, ultrafast demagnetization has ignited immense research interest due to its scientific rigor and technological potential. A flurry of recent theoretical and experimental investigations has proposed direct and indirect excitation processes in separate systems. However, it still lacks a unified mechanism and remains highly debatable. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that instead of either direct or indirect interaction, simultaneous and controlled excitation of both direct and indirect mechanisms of demagnetization are possible in a multilayers composed of repeated Co/Pd bi-layers. Moreover, we were able to modulate demagnetization time (from ~350 fs to ~750 fs) by fluence and thickness dependent indirect excitation due to heat current flowing vertically downward from top layers, which is combined with an altogether different scenario of direct irradiation. Finally, by regulating the pump wavelength we could effectively control the contribution of indirect process, which gives a confirmation to our understanding of the ultrafast demagnetization process.
We explore a thermal mechanism of changing the anisotropy by femtosecond laser pulses in dielectric ferrimagnetic garnets by taking a low symmetry (YBiPrLu)3(FeGa)5O12 film grown on the (210)-oriented Gd3Ga5O12 substrate as a model media. We demonstrate by means of spectral magneto-optical pump-probe technique and phenomenological analysis, that the magnetization precession in such a film is triggered by laser-induced changes of the growth-induced magnetic anisotropy along with the well-known ultrafast inverse Faraday effect. The change of magnetic anisotropy is mediated by the lattice heating induced by laser pulses of arbitrary polarization on a picosecond time scale. We show that the orientation of the external magnetic field with respect to the magnetization easy plane noticeably affects the precession excited via the anisotropy change. Importantly, the relative contributions from the ultrafast inverse Faraday effect and the change of different growth-induced anisotropy parameters can be controlled by varying the applied magnetic field strength and direction. As a result, the amplitude and the initial phase of the excited magnetization precession can be gradually tuned.
We report on a study of an ultrathin topological insulator film with hybridization between the top and bottom surfaces, placed in a quantizing perpendicular magnetic field. We calculate the full Landau level spectrum of the film as a function of the applied magnetic field and the magnitude of the hybridization matrix element, taking into account both the orbital and the Zeeman spin splitting effects of the field. For an undoped film, we find a quantum phase transition between a state with a zero Hall conductivity and a state with a quantized Hall conductivity equal to $e^2/h$, as a function of the magnitude of the applied field. The transition is driven by the competition between the Zeeman and the hybridization energies.
Stripe domains are studied in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy films nanostructured with a periodic thickness modulation that induces the lateral modulation of both stripe periods and inplane magnetization. The resulting system is the 2D equivalent of a strained superlattice with properties controlled by interfacial misfit strain within the magnetic stripe structure and shape anisotropy. This allows us to observe, experimentally for the first time, the continuous structural transformation of a grain boundary in this 2D magnetic crystal in the whole angular range. The magnetization reversal process can be tailored through the effect of misfit strain due to the coupling between disclinations in the magnetic stripe pattern and domain walls in the in-plane magnetization configuration.
Laser-induced terahertz spin transport (TST) and ultrafast demagnetization (UDM) are central but so far disconnected phenomena in femtomagnetism and terahertz spintronics. Here, we use broadband terahertz emission spectroscopy to reliably measure both processes in one setup. We find that the rate of UDM of a single ferromagnetic metal film F has the same time evolution as the flux of TST from F into an adjacent normal-metal layer N. This remarkable agreement shows that UDM and TST are driven by the same force, which is fully determined by the state of the ferromagnet. An analytical model consistently and quantitatively explains our observations. It reveals that both UDM in F and TST in the F|N stack arise from a generalized spin voltage, which is defined for arbitrary, nonthermal electron distributions. We also conclude that contributions due to a possible temperature difference between F and N are minor and that the spin-current amplitude can, in principle, be increased by one order of magnitude. In general, our findings allow one to apply the vast knowledge of UDM to TST, thereby opening up new pathways toward large-amplitude terahertz spin currents and, thus, energy-efficient ultrafast spintronic devices.