10 research outputs found
Coherent control of magnetization precession in ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As
We report single-color, time resolved magneto-optical measurements in
ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. We demonstrate coherent optical control
of the magnetization precession by applying two successive ultrashort laser
pulses. The magnetic field and temperature dependent experiments reveal the
collective Mn-moment nature of the oscillatory part of the time-dependent Kerr
rotation, as well as contributions to the magneto-optical signal that are not
connected with the magnetization dynamics.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Applied Physics Letter
Laser-induced Precession of Magnetization in GaMnAs
We report on the photo-induced precession of the ferromagnetically coupled Mn
spins in (Ga,Mn)As, which is observed even with no external magnetic field
applied. We concentrate on various experimental aspects of the time-resolved
magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE) technique that can be used to clarify the
origin of the detected signals. We show that the measured data typically
consist of several different contributions, among which only the oscillatory
signal is directly connected with the ferromagnetic order in the sample.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Spin Hall effect transistor
Spin transistors and spin Hall effects have been two separate leading
directions of research in semiconductor spintronics which seeks new paradigms
for information processing technologies. We have brought the two directions
together to realize an all-semiconductor spin Hall effect transistor. Our
scheme circumvents semiconductor-ferromagnet interface problems of the original
Datta-Das spin transistor concept and demonstrates the utility of the spin Hall
effects in microelectronics. The devices use diffusive transport and operate
without electrical current, i.e., without Joule heating in the active part of
the transistor. We demonstrate a spin AND logic function in a semiconductor
channel with two gates. Our experimental study is complemented by numerical
Monte Carlo simulations of spin-diffusion through the transistor channel.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Light-induced magnetization precession in GaMnAs
We report dynamics of the transient polar Kerr rotation (KR) and of the
transient reflectivity induced by femtosecond laser pulses in ferromagnetic
(Ga,Mn)As with no external magnetic field applied. It is shown that the
measured KR signal consist of several different contributions, among which only
the oscillatory signal is directly connected with the ferromagnetic order in
(Ga,Mn)As. The origin of the light-induced magnetization precession is
discussed and the magnetization precession damping (Gilbert damping) is found
to be strongly influenced by annealing of the sample.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. accepted in Applied Physics Letter
Spin dynamics in semiconductors
This article reviews the current status of spin dynamics in semiconductors
which has achieved a lot of progress in the past years due to the fast growing
field of semiconductor spintronics. The primary focus is the theoretical and
experimental developments of spin relaxation and dephasing in both spin
precession in time domain and spin diffusion and transport in spacial domain. A
fully microscopic many-body investigation on spin dynamics based on the kinetic
spin Bloch equation approach is reviewed comprehensively.Comment: a review article with 193 pages and 1103 references. To be published
in Physics Reports
Optical determination of the NĂ©el vector in a CuMnAs thin-film antiferromagnet
Recent breakthroughs in electrical detection and manipulation of antiferromagnets have opened a new avenue in the research of non-volatile spintronic devices.1-10 Antiparallel spin sublattices in antiferromagnets, producing zero dipolar fields, lead to the insensitivity to magnetic field perturbations, multi-level stability, ultrafast spin dynamics and other favorable characteristics which may find utility in fields ranging from magnetic memories to optical signal processing. However, the absence of a net magnetic moment and the ultra-short magnetization dynamics timescales make antiferromagnets notoriously difficult to study by common magnetometers or magnetic resonance techniques. In this paper we demonstrate the experimental determination of the NĂ©el vector in a thin film of antiferromagnetic CuMnAs9,10 which is the prominent material used in the first realization of antiferromagnetic memory chips.10 We employ a femtosecond pump-probe magneto-optical experiment based on magnetic linear dichroism. This table-top optical method is considerably more accessible than the traditionally employed large scale facility techniques like neutron diffraction11 and Xray magnetic dichroism measurements.12-14 This optical technique allows an unambiguous direct determination of the NĂ©el vector orientation in thin antiferromagnetic films utilized in devices directly from measured data without fitting to a theoretical model