Control of defect-mediated tunneling barrier heights in ultrathin MgO films

The impact of oxygen vacancies on local tunneling properties across rf-sputtered MgO thin films was investigated by optical absorption spectroscopy and conducting atomic force microscopy. Adding O$_2$ to the Ar plasma during MgO growth alters the oxygen defect populations, leading to improved local tunneling characteristics such as a lower density of current hotspots and a lower tunnel current amplitude. We discuss a defect-based potential landscape across ultrathin MgO barriers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Field-driven femtosecond magnetization dynamics induced by ultrastrong coupling to THz transients

Controlling ultrafast magnetization dynamics by a femtosecond laser is attracting interest both in fundamental science and industry because of the potential to achieve magnetic domain switching at ever advanced speed. Here we report experiments illustrating the ultrastrong and fully coherent light-matter coupling of a high-field single-cycle THz transient to the magnetization vector in a ferromagnetic thin film. We could visualize magnetization dynamics which occur on a timescale of the THz laser cycle and two orders of magnitude faster than the natural precession response of electrons to an external magnetic field, given by the Larmor frequency. We show that for one particular scattering geometry the strong coherent optical coupling can be described within the framework of a renormalized Landau Lifshitz equation. In addition to fundamentally new insights to ultrafast magnetization dynamics the coherent interaction allows for retrieving the complex time-frequency magnetic properties and points out new opportunities in data storage technology towards significantly higher storage speed.Comment: 25 page

Efficient metallic spintronic emitters of ultrabroadband terahertz radiation

Terahertz electromagnetic radiation is extremely useful for numerous applications such as imaging and spectroscopy. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have an efficient table-top emitter covering the 1-to-30-THz window whilst being driven by a low-cost, low-power femtosecond laser oscillator. So far, all solid-state emitters solely exploit physics related to the electron charge and deliver emission spectra with substantial gaps. Here, we take advantage of the electron spin to realize a conceptually new terahertz source which relies on tailored fundamental spintronic and photonic phenomena in magnetic metal multilayers: ultrafast photo-induced spin currents, the inverse spin-Hall effect and a broadband Fabry-P\'erot resonance. Guided by an analytical model, such spintronic route offers unique possibilities for systematic optimization. We find that a 5.8-nm-thick W/CoFeB/Pt trilayer generates ultrashort pulses fully covering the 1-to-30-THz range. Our novel source outperforms laser-oscillator-driven emitters such as ZnTe(110) crystals in terms of bandwidth, terahertz-field amplitude, flexibility, scalability and cost.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

Spectral-domain optical coherence phase and multiphoton microscopy

We describe simultaneous quantitative phase contrast and multiphoton fluorescence imaging by combined spectral-domain optical coherence phase and multiphoton microscopy. The instrument employs two light sources for efficient optical coherence microscopic and multiphoton imaging and can generate structural and functional images of transparent specimens in the epidirection. Phase contrast imaging exhibits spatial and temporal phase stability in the subnanometer range. We also demonstrate the visualization of actin filaments in a fixed cell specimen, which is confirmed by simultaneous multiphoton fluorescence imaging. © 2007 Optical Society of America

Observation of the spin-charge thermal isolation of ferromagnetic Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As by time-resolved magneto-optical measurement

The dynamics of magnetization under femtosecond optical excitation is studied in a ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As with a time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement with two color probe beams. The transient reflectivity change indicates the rapid rise of the carrier temperature and relaxation to a quasi-thermal equilibrium within 1 ps, while a very slow rise of the spin temperature of the order of 500ps is observed. This anomalous behavior originates from the thermal isolation between the charge and spin systems due to the spin polarization of carriers (holes) contributing to ferromagnetism. This constitutes experimental proof of the half-metallic nature of ferromagnetic Ga_{0.94}Mn_{0.06}As arising from double exchange type mechanism originates from the d-band character of holes

Damped precession of the magnetization vector of superparamagnetic nanoparticles excited by femtosecond optical pulses

The ultrafast magnetization and electron dynamics of superparamagnetic cobalt nanoparticles, embedded in a dielectric matrix, have been investigated using femtosecond optical pulses. Our experimental approach allows us to bypass the superparamagnetic thermal fluctuations and to observe the trajectory of the magnetization vector which exhibits a strongly damped precession motion. The magnetization precession is damped faster in the superparamagnetic particles than in cobalt films or when the particle size decreases, suggesting that the damping is enhanced at the metal dielectric interface. Our observations question the gyroscopic nature of the magnetization pathway when superparamagnetic fluctuations take place as we discuss in the context of Brown’s model

Magnetoresistance through a single molecule

The use of single molecules to design electronic devices is an extremely challenging and fundamentally different approach to further downsizing electronic circuits. Two-terminal molecular devices such as diodes were first predicted [1] and, more recently, measured experimentally [2]. The addition of a gate then enabled the study of molecular transistors [3-5]. In general terms, in order to increase data processing capabilities, one may not only consider the electron's charge but also its spin [6,7]. This concept has been pioneered in giant magnetoresistance (GMR) junctions that consist of thin metallic films [8,9]. Spin transport across molecules, i.e. Molecular Spintronics remains, however, a challenging endeavor. As an important first step in this field, we have performed an experimental and theoretical study on spin transport across a molecular GMR junction consisting of two ferromagnetic electrodes bridged by a single hydrogen phthalocyanine (H2Pc) molecule. We observe that even though H2Pc in itself is nonmagnetic, incorporating it into a molecular junction can enhance the magnetoresistance by one order of magnitude to 52%.Comment: To appear in Nature Nanotechnology. Present version is the first submission to Nature Nanotechnology, from May 18th, 201