Magnetisation switching of FePt nanoparticle recording medium by femtosecond laser pulses.

Manipulation of magnetisation with ultrashort laser pulses is promising for information storage device applications. The dynamics of the magnetisation response depends on the energy transfer from the photons to the spins during the initial laser excitation. A material of special interest for magnetic storage are FePt nanoparticles, for which switching of the magnetisation with optical angular momentum was demonstrated recently. The mechanism remained unclear. Here we investigate experimentally and theoretically the all-optical switching of FePt nanoparticles. We show that the magnetisation switching is a stochastic process. We develop a complete multiscale model which allows us to optimize the number of laser shots needed to switch the magnetisation of high anisotropy FePt nanoparticles in our experiments. We conclude that only angular momentum induced optically by the inverse Faraday effect will provide switching with one single femtosecond laser pulse.

Role of temperature-dependent spin model parameters in ultra-fast magnetization dynamics.

In the spirit of multi-scale modelling magnetization dynamics at elevated temperature is often simulated in terms of a spin model where the model parameters are derived from first principles. While these parameters are mostly assumed temperature-independent and thermal properties arise from spin fluctuations only, other scenarios are also possible. Choosing bcc Fe as an example, we investigate the influence of different kinds of model assumptions on ultra-fast spin dynamics, where following a femtosecond laser pulse, a sample is demagnetized due to a sudden rise of the electron temperature. While different model assumptions do not affect the simulational results qualitatively, their details do depend on the nature of the modelling.

Disparate ultrafast dynamics of itinerant and localized magnetic moments in gadolinium metal.

The Heisenberg-Dirac intra-atomic exchange coupling is responsible for the formation of the atomic spin moment and thus the strongest interaction in magnetism. Therefore, it is generally assumed that intra-atomic exchange leads to a quasi-instantaneous aligning process in the magnetic moment dynamics of spins in separate, on-site atomic orbitals. Following ultrashort optical excitation of gadolinium metal, we concurrently record in photoemission the 4f magnetic linear dichroism and 5d exchange splitting. Their dynamics differ by one order of magnitude, with decay constants of 14 versus 0.8 ps, respectively. Spin dynamics simulations based on an orbital-resolved Heisenberg Hamiltonian combined with first-principles calculations explain the particular dynamics of 5d and 4f spin moments well, and corroborate that the 5d exchange splitting traces closely the 5d spin-moment dynamics. Thus gadolinium shows disparate dynamics of the localized 4f and the itinerant 5d spin moments, demonstrating a breakdown of their intra-atomic exchange alignment on a picosecond timescale.

Role of entropy in domain wall motion in thermal gradients.

Thermally driven domain wall (DW) motion caused solely by magnonic spin currents was forecast theoretically and has been measured recently in a magnetic insulator using magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy. We present an analytical calculation of the DW velocity as well as the Walker breakdown within the framework of the Landau Lifshitz Bloch equation of motion. The temperature gradient leads to a torque term acting on the magnetization where the DW is mainly driven by the temperature dependence of the exchange stiffness, or--in a more general picture--by the maximization of entropy. The existence of this entropic torque term does not rest on the angular momentum transfer from the magnonic spin current. Hence, even DWs in antiferromagnets or compensated ferrimagnets should move accordingly. We further argue that the entropic torque exceeds that of the magnonic spin current.

THz switching of antiferromagnets and ferrimagnets.

Using analytical calculations as well as computer simulations, we show that antiferromagnets can be switched on a time scale of picoseconds using THz laser pulses only. This all-optically triggered switching mechanism rests on the coordinated dynamics of the two interacting sublattices with an inertial character. We calculate the resonance frequencies in the nonlinear regime, the orbits, and estimate the field strength required for switching analytically. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ferrimagnets can be switched similarly at their compensation point.

Determination of the spin torque non-adiabaticity in perpendicularly magnetized nanowires.

Novel nanofabrication methods and the discovery of an efficient manipulation of local magnetization based on spin polarized currents has generated a tremendous interest in the field of spintronics. The search for materials allowing for fast domain wall dynamics requires fundamental research into the effects involved (Oersted fields, adiabatic and non-adiabatic spin torque, Joule heating) and possibilities for a quantitative comparison. Theoretical descriptions reveal a material and geometry dependence of the non-adiabaticity factor ß, which governs the domain wall velocity. Here, we present two independent approaches for determining ß: (i) measuring the dependence of the dwell times for which a domain wall stays in a metastable pinning state on the injected current and (ii) the current-field equivalence approach. The comparison of the deduced ß values highlights the problems of using one-dimensional models to describe two-dimensional dynamics and allows us to ascertain the reliability, robustness and limits of the approaches used.

Domain wall motion by the magnonic spin Seebeck effect.

The recently discovered spin Seebeck effect refers to a spin current induced by a temperature gradient in a ferromagnetic material. It combines spin degrees of freedom with caloric properties, opening the door for the invention of new, spin caloritronic devices. Using spin model simulations as well as an innovative, multiscale micromagnetic framework we show that magnonic spin currents caused by temperature gradients lead to spin transfer torque effects, which can drag a domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanostructure towards the hotter part of the wire. This effect opens new perspectives for the control and manipulation of domain structures.

Ultrafast path for optical magnetization reversal via a strongly nonequilibrium state.

Using time-resolved single-shot pump-probe microscopy we unveil the mechanism and the time scale of all-optical magnetization reversal by a single circularly polarized 100 fs laser pulse. We demonstrate that the reversal has a linear character, i.e., does not involve precession but occurs via a strongly nonequilibrium state. Calculations show that the reversal time which can be achieved via this mechanism is within 10 ps for a 30 nm domain. Using two single subpicosecond laser pulses we demonstrate that for a 5 microm domain the magnetic information can be recorded and readout within 30 ps, which is the fastest "write-read" event demonstrated for magnetic recording so far.