5 research outputs found
Ultrafast Magneto-Acoustics in Nickel Films
We report about the existence of magneto-acoustic pulses propagating in a
200-nm-thick ferromagnetic nickel film excited with 120 fs laser pulses. They
result from the coupling between the magnetization of the ferromagnetic film
and the longitudinal acoustic waves associated to the propagation of the
lattice deformation induced by the femtosecond laser pulses. The
magneto-acoustic pulses are detected from both the front and back sides of the
film, using the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr technique, measuring both
the time dependent rotation and ellipticity. We show that the propagating
acoustic pulse couples efficiently to the magnetization and is strong enough to
induce a precession of the magnetization. It is due to a transient change of
the crystalline anisotropy associated to the lattice deformation. It is shown
that the results can be interpreted by combining the concepts of acoustic pulse
propagation and ultrafast magnetization dynamics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to Physical Review Letters on November
30th 201
Controlling the Spins Angular Momentum in Ferromagnets with Sequences of Picosecond Acoustic Pulses
Controlling the angular momentum of spins with very short external perturbations is a key issue in modern magnetism. For example it allows manipulating the magnetization for recording purposes or for inducing high frequency spin torque oscillations. Towards that purpose it is essential to modify and control the angular momentum of the magnetization which precesses around the resultant effective magnetic field. That can be achieved with very short external magnetic field pulses or using intrinsically coupled magnetic structures, resulting in a transfer of spin torque. Here we show that using picosecond acoustic pulses is a versatile and efficient way of controlling the spin angular momentum in ferromagnets. Two or three acoustic pulses, generated by femtosecond laser pulses, allow suppressing or enhancing the magnetic precession at any arbitrary time by precisely controlling the delays and amplitudes of the optical pulses. A formal analogy with a two dimensional pendulum allows us explaining the complex trajectory of the magnetic vector perturbed by the acoustic pulses
Ultrafast optical control of magnetization dynamics in polycrystalline bismuth doped iron garnet thin films
Controlling the magnetization dynamics on the femtosecond timescale is of fundamental importance for integrated opto-spintronic devices. For industrial perspectives, it requires to develop simple growth techniques for obtaining large area magneto-optical materials having a high amplitude ultrafast Faraday or Kerr response. Here we report on optical pump probe studies of light induced spin dynamics in high quality bismuth doped iron garnet polycrystalline film prepared by the spin coating method. We demonstrate an ultrafast non-thermal optical control of the spin dynamics using both circularly and linearly polarized pulses
Two dimensional dipolar coupling in monolayers of silver and gold nanoparticles on a dielectric substrate
The dimensionality of assembled nanoparticles plays an important role in their optical and magnetic properties, via dipolar effects and the interaction with their environment. In this work we develop a methodology for distinguishing between two (2D) and three (3D) dimensional collective interactions on the surface plasmon resonance of assembled metal nanoparticles. Towards that goal, we elaborate different sets of Au and Ag nanoparticles as suspensions, random 3D arrangements and well organized 2D arrays. Then we model their scattering cross-section using effective field methods in dimension n, including interparticle as well as particle-substrate dipolar interactions. For this modelling, two effective field medium approaches are employed, taking into account the filling factors of the assemblies. Our results are important for realizing photonic amplifier devices