ABSTRACT
Single Pulse All Optical Switching represents the ability to reverse the magnetization of a nanostructure using a femtosecond single laser pulse without any applied field. Since the first switching experiments carried out on GdFeCo ferrimagnets, this phenomena has been only recently extended to a few other materials, MnRuGa alloys and Tb/Co multilayers with a very specific range of thickness and composition. Here, we demonstrate that single pulse switching can be obtained for a large range of rare earth-transition metal multilayers, making this phenomenon much more general. Surprisingly, the threshold fluence for switching is observed to be independent of the laser pulse duration. Moreover, at high laser intensities, concentric ring domain structures are induced. These striking features contrast to those observed in Gd based materials pointing towards a different reversal mechanism. Concomitant with the demonstration of an in-plane magnetization reorientation, a precessional reversal mechanism explains all the observed features.
ABSTRACT
Metamaterials, tunable artificial materials, are useful playgrounds to investigate magnetic systems. So far, artificial Ising spin systems have revealed features such as emergent magnetic monopoles1,2 and charge fragmentation3. Here we present a metasystem composed of a lattice of dipolarly coupled nanomagnets. The magnetic spin of each nanomagnet is constrained to lie along a body diagonal, which yields four possible spin states. We show that the magnetic ordering of this metasystem (antiferromagnetic, ferromagnetic or spin ice like) is determined by the spin states orientation relative to the underlying lattice. The dipolar four-state Potts model explains our experimental observations and sheds light on the role of symmetry, as well as short- and long-range dipolar magnetic interactions, in such non-Ising spin systems.
ABSTRACT
The electronic structure of (1 1 1) Sm1-x Gd x Al2, a zero-magnetization ferromagnet, is investigated by angle- and spin- resolved photoemission spectroscopy. An intense electron pocket strongly localized around [Formula: see text] and close to the Fermi level is observed and analyzed in detail. Its various characteristics, combined with electronic structure calculations, reveal a resonant surface state of 5d character and Λ1 symmetry, likely built on bulk states developing around L points. It exhibits moreover a low temperature positive spin polarization at the Fermi level, of strong interest for spin-dependent transport properties in Sm1-x Gd x Al2-based spintronic devices.
ABSTRACT
Using specially engineered structures to tailor the optical absorption in a metallic multilayer, we analyze the magnetization dynamics of a Co/Pt multilayer buried below a thick Cu layer. We demonstrate that hot electrons alone can very efficiently induce ultrafast demagnetization. Simulations based on hot electron ballistic transport implemented within a microscopic model that accounts for local dissipation of angular momentum nicely reproduce the experimental results, ruling out contribution of pure thermal transport.
ABSTRACT
The influence of Pt thickness on the interface structure (roughness / intermixing) and magnetic properties has been investigated for (Co / Pt) multilayers sputtered on a Pt or a thin oxide (MgO or AlO x ) buffer layer. When Pt thickness increases from 1.2 nm-2.2 nm, we observe that the effective anisotropy increases with the Pt thickness, simultaneously with the decrease of roughness, i.e. the occurrence of sharper interfaces. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is still achieved on the oxide buffer layers, but with a lower effective anisotropy correlated to more perturbed interfaces. The detailed analysis of the saturation magnetization shows that: (i) M s is significantly enhanced in the case of rough/intermixed interfaces, which is attributed to and discussed in the framework of Pt induced polarization, (ii) the change in volume dipolar anisotropy is the main factor responsible for the reduction of K eff for systems grown on oxides. Beyond the major role of volume dipolar contribution that reduces PMA, a supplemental positive contribution promoting PMA can be invoked for rough interfaces and large M s (deposit on oxide). This contribution is consistent with a dipolar surface anisotropy term and increases for rough interfaces, in contrast to the Néel surface anisotropy. These opposite variations may interestingly lead to an enhanced anisotropy in (Co / Pt) stackings grown on oxides compared to systems deposited on Pt, i.e. with sharper interfaces.
ABSTRACT
This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.157204.
ABSTRACT
Double-barrier heterostructures are model systems for the study of electron tunneling and discrete energy levels in a quantum well (QW). Until now resonant tunneling phenomena in metallic QWs have been observed for limited thicknesses (1-2 nm) under which electron phase coherence is conserved. In the present study we show evidence of QW resonance states in Fe QWs up to 12 nm thick and at room temperature in fully epitaxial double MgAlO_{x} barrier magnetic tunnel junctions. The electron phase coherence displayed in this QW is of unprecedented quality because of a homogenous interface phase shift due to the small lattice mismatch at the Fe-MgAlO_{x} interface. The physical understanding of the critical role of interface strain on QW phase coherence will greatly promote the development of spin-dependent quantum resonant tunneling applications.
ABSTRACT
The manipulation of magnetic domain walls in thin films and nanostructures opens new opportunities for fundamental and applied research. But controlling reliably the position of a moving domain wall still remains challenging. So far, most of the studies aimed at understanding the physics of pinning and depinning processes in the magnetic layer in which the wall moves (active layer). In these studies, the role of other magnetic layers in the stack has been often ignored. Here, we report an indirect localization process of 180° domain walls that occurs in magnetic tunnel junctions, commonly used in spintronics. Combining Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, magnetic configurations in both layers are resolved. When nucleating a 180° domain wall in the active layer, a quasi wall is created in the reference layer, atop the wall. The wall and its quasi wall must then be moved or positioned together, as a unique object. As a mutual effect, a localized change of the magnetic properties in the reference layer induces a localized quasi wall in the active layer. The two types of quasi walls are shown to be responsible for an indirect localization process of the 180° domain wall in the active layer.
ABSTRACT
Research on advanced materials such as multiferroic perovskites underscores promising applications, yet studies on these materials rarely address the impact of defects on the nominally expected materials property. Here, we revisit the comparatively simple oxide MgO as the model material system for spin-polarized solid-state tunnelling studies. We present a defect-mediated tunnelling potential landscape of localized states owing to explicitly identified defect species, against which we examine the bias and temperature dependence of magnetotransport. By mixing symmetry-resolved transport channels, a localized state may alter the effective barrier height for symmetry-resolved charge carriers, such that tunnelling magnetoresistance decreases most with increasing temperature when that state is addressed electrically. Thermal excitation promotes an occupancy switchover from the ground to the excited state of a defect, which impacts these magnetotransport characteristics. We thus resolve contradictions between experiment and theory in this otherwise canonical spintronics system, and propose a new perspective on defects in dielectrics.
ABSTRACT
The interplay of light and magnetism allowed light to be used as a probe of magnetic materials. Now the focus has shifted to use polarized light to alter or manipulate magnetism. Here, we demonstrate optical control of ferromagnetic materials ranging from magnetic thin films to multilayers and even granular films being explored for ultra-high-density magnetic recording. Our finding shows that optical control of magnetic materials is a much more general phenomenon than previously assumed and may have a major impact on data memory and storage industries through the integration of optical control of ferromagnetic bits.
ABSTRACT
A crystal of emerging magnetic charges is expected in the phase diagram of the dipolar kagomé spin ice. An observation of charge crystallites in thermally demagnetized artificial spin ice arrays has been recently reported by S. Zhang and coworkers and explained through the thermodynamics of the system as it approaches a charge-ordered state. Following a similar approach, we have generated a partial order of magnetic charges in an artificial kagomé spin ice lattice made out of ferrimagnetic material having a Curie temperature of 475 K. A statistical study of the size of the charge domains reveals an unconventional sawtooth distribution. This distribution is in disagreement with the predictions of the thermodynamic model and is shown to be a signature of the kinetic process governing the remagnetization.
ABSTRACT
Understanding the loss of magnetic order and the microscopic mechanisms involved in laser induced magnetization dynamics is one of the most challenging topics in today's magnetism research. While scattering between spins, phonons, magnons and electrons have been proposed as sources for dissipation of spin angular momentum, ultrafast spin dependent transport of hot electrons has been pointed out as a potential candidate to explain ultrafast demagnetization without resorting to any spin dissipation channel. Here we use time resolved magneto-optical Kerr measurements to extract the influence of spin dependent transport on the demagnetization dynamics taking place in magnetic samples with alternating domains with opposite magnetization directions. We unambiguously show that whatever the sample magnetic configuration, the demagnetization takes place during the same time, demonstrating that hot electrons spin dependent transfer between neighboring domains does not alter the ultrafast magnetization dynamics in our systems with perpendicular anisotropy and 140 nm domain sizes.
ABSTRACT
Femtosecond laser pulses can be used to induce ultrafast changes of the magnetization in magnetic materials. However, one of the unsolved questions is that of conservation of the total angular momentum during the ultrafast demagnetization. Here we report the ultrafast transfer of angular momentum during the first hundred femtoseconds in ferrimagnetic Co0.8Gd0.2 and Co0.74Tb0.26 films. Using time-resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism allowed for time-resolved determination of spin and orbital momenta for each element. We report an ultrafast quenching of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and show that at early times the demagnetization in ferrimagnetic alloys is driven by the local transfer of angular momenta between the two exchange-coupled sublattices while the total angular momentum stays constant. In Co0.74Tb0.26 we have observed a transfer of the total angular momentum to an external bath, which is delayed by ~150 fs.
Subject(s)
Alloys/chemistry , Magnetic Phenomena , Magnets/chemistry , Thermodynamics , Anisotropy , Circular Dichroism/methods , Cobalt/chemistry , Crystallization , Gadolinium/chemistry , Terbium/chemistry , X-RaysABSTRACT
The possibility of manipulating magnetic systems without applied magnetic fields have attracted growing attention over the past fifteen years. The low-power manipulation of the magnetization, preferably at ultrashort timescales, has become a fundamental challenge with implications for future magnetic information memory and storage technologies. Here we explore the optical manipulation of the magnetization in engineered magnetic materials. We demonstrate that all-optical helicity-dependent switching (AO-HDS) can be observed not only in selected rare earth-transition metal (RE-TM) alloy films but also in a much broader variety of materials, including RE-TM alloys, multilayers and heterostructures. We further show that RE-free Co-Ir-based synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures designed to mimic the magnetic properties of RE-TM alloys also exhibit AO-HDS. These results challenge present theories of AO-HDS and provide a pathway to engineering materials for future applications based on all-optical control of magnetic order.
ABSTRACT
The accuracy of finite difference methods is related to the mesh choice and cell size. Concerning the micromagnetism of nano-objects, we show here that discretization issues can drastically affect the symmetry of the problem and therefore the resulting computed properties of lattices of interacting curved nanomagnets. In this paper, we detail these effects for the multi-axis kagome lattice. Using the OOMMF finite difference method, we propose an alternative way of discretizing the nanomagnet shape via a variable moment per cell scheme. This method is shown to be efficient in reducing discretization effects.
Subject(s)
Computer Simulation , Magnets , Nanostructures/chemistry , Nanotechnology/instrumentation , Algorithms , SoftwareABSTRACT
We demonstrate that shot noise in Fe/MgO/Fe/MgO/Fe double-barrier magnetic tunnel junctions is determined by the relative magnetic configuration of the junction and also by the asymmetry of the barriers. The proposed theoretical model, based on sequential tunneling through the system and including spin relaxation, successfully accounts for the experimental observations for bias voltages below 0.5 V, where the influence of quantum well states is negligible. A weak enhancement of conductance and shot noise, observed at some voltages (especially above 0.5 V), indicates the formation of quantum well states in the middle magnetic layer. The observed results open up new perspectives for a reliable magnetic control of the most fundamental noise in spintronic structures.
ABSTRACT
We report experimental evidence of thermal effects on the displacement of vortex walls in NiFe nanostrips. With the use of nanosecond current pulses, a unidirectional motion of the magnetic domain walls towards the hotter part of the nanostrips is observed, in addition to current-induced domain wall motion. By tuning the heat dissipation in the samples and modeling the heat diffusion, we conclude that this unidirectional motion can only be explained by the presence of a temperature profile along the nanostrip. A quantitative analysis of the experiments shows that, on top of the classical thermodynamic pressure on the domain wall, another force, probably the magnonic spin Seebeck effect, is displacing the domain walls.
ABSTRACT
We present real time atomic force microscopy imaging during nanogap fabrication by feedback controlled electromigration of a gold nanowire. The correlated measurements of electrical resistance and atomic force microscopy reveal that the major structural changes appear at the early stage of the process. Moreover, despite important morphological changes, the resistance of the nanowire shows a weak increase of just a few ohms. The detailed analysis of the atomic force microscopy images clearly shows that the electromigration process is strongly influenced by the initial microstructure of the nanowire.
ABSTRACT
We perform a spectroscopic study of the collective spin-wave dynamics occurring in a pair of magnetic nanodisks coupled by the magnetodipolar interaction. We take advantage of the stray field gradient produced by the magnetic tip of a ferromagnetic resonance force microscope to continuously tune and detune the relative resonance frequencies between two adjacent nano-objects. This reveals the anticrossing and hybridization of the spin-wave modes in the pair. At the exact tuning, the measured frequency splitting between the binding and antibinding modes corresponds to the strength of the dynamical dipolar coupling Ω. This accurate ferromagnetic resonance force microscope determination of Ω is measured versus the separation between the nanodisks. It agrees quantitatively with calculations of the expected dynamical magnetodipolar interaction in our sample.
ABSTRACT
Magnetic frustration effects in artificial kagome arrays of nanomagnets are investigated using x-ray photoemission electron microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. Spin configurations of demagnetized networks reveal unambiguous signatures of long range, dipolar interaction between the nanomagnets. As soon as the system enters the spin ice manifold, the kagome dipolar spin ice model captures the observed physics, while the short range kagome spin ice model fails.