Composition-tuned magneto-optical Kerr effect in L10-MnxGa films with giant perpendicular anisotropy

We report the large polar magnetooptical Kerr effect in L10-MnxGa epitaxial films with giant perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in a wide composition range. The Kerr rotation was enhanced by a factor of up to 10 by decreasing Mn atomic concentration, which most likely arises from the variation of the effective spin-orbit coupling strength, compensation effect of magnetic moments at different Mn atom sites, and overall strain. The Kerr ellipticity and the magnitude of the complex Kerr angle is found to have more complex composition-dependence that varies with the photon energy. These L10-MnxGa films show large Kerr rotation of up to 0.10o, high reflectivity of 35%-55% in a wide wavelength range of 400~850 nm, and giant magnetic anisotropic field of up to 210 kOe, making them an interesting material system for emerging spintronics and terahertz modulator applications

Non-linear spin-wave excitation at low bias fields

Non-linear magnetization dynamics is essential for the operation of many spintronics devices. For microwave assisted switching of magnetic elements the low field regime is of particular interest. In addition a large number of experiments uses high amplitude FMR in order to generate d.c. currents via spin pumping mechanism. Here we use time resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments to determine the number density of excited magnons in magnetically soft Ni_80Fe_20 thin films at small bias fields and large rf-excitation amplitudes. Our data shows that the common model of non-linear ferromagnetic resonance is not suitable to describe the low bias field limit. Here we derive a new model of parametric spin-wave excitation which correctly predicts threshold amplitudes and decay rates also at low bias fields. In fact a new series of critical modes with amplitude phase oscillations is found, generalizing the theory of parametric spin-wave excitation

Observation of orbital two-channel Kondo effect in a ferromagnetic L10-MnGa film

The experimental existence and stability of the quantum criticality point of the two-channel Kondo (2CK) effect displaying exotic non-Fermi liquid physics has been buried in persistent confusion despite the intensive theoretical and experimental efforts in past three decades. Here we report an experimental realization of the two-level system scattering-induced orbital 2CK effect in a ferromagnetic L10-MnGa film, which is signified by a magnetic field-independent resistivity upturn that has a logarithmic and square-root temperature dependence beyond and below the Kondo temperature of ~14.5 K, respectively. Our result not only evidences the robust existence of orbital 2CK effect even in the presence of strong magnetic fields and long-range ferromagnetic ordering but also extends the scope of 2CK host materials from nonmagnetic nanoscale point contacts to diffusive conductors of disordered alloys

Damping by slow relaxing rare earth impurities in Ni80Fe20

Doping NiFe by heavy rare earth atoms alters the magnetic relaxation properties of this material drastically. We show that this effect can be well explained by the slow relaxing impurity mechanism. This process is a consequence of the anisotropy of the on site exchange interaction between the 4f magnetic moments and the conduction band. As expected from this model the magnitude of the damping effect scales with the anisotropy of the exchange interaction and increases by an order of magnitude at low temperatures. In addition our measurements allow us to determine the relaxation time of the 4f electrons as a function of temperature

Magneto-optical properties of Au upon the injection of hot spin-polarized electrons across Fe/Au(001) interfaces

We demonstrate a novel method for the excitation of sizable magneto-optical effects in Au by means of the laser-induced injection of hot spin-polarized electrons in Au/Fe/MgO(001) heterostructures. It is based on the energy- and spin-dependent electron transmittance of Fe/Au interface which acts as a spin filter for non-thermalized electrons optically excited in Fe. We show that after crossing the interface, majority electrons propagate through the Au layer with the velocity on the order of 1 nm/fs (close to the Fermi velocity) and the decay length on the order of 100 nm. Featuring ultrafast functionality and requiring no strong external magnetic fields, spin injection results in a distinct magneto-optical response of Au. We develop a formalism based on the phase of the transient complex MOKE response and demonstrate its robustness in a plethora of experimental and theoretical MOKE studies on Au, including our ab initio calculations. Our work introduces a flexible tool to manipulate magneto-optical properties of metals on the femtosecond timescale that holds high potential for active magneto-photonics, plasmonics, and spintronics

Magnetic relaxation in metallic films: Single and multilayer structures

The intrinsic magnetic relaxations in metallic films will be discussed. It will be shown that the intrinsic damping mechanism in metals is caused by incoherent scattering of itinerant electron-hole pair excitations by phonons and magnons. Berger [L. Berger, Phys. Rev. B 54, 9353 (1996)] showed that the interaction between spin waves and itinerant electrons in multilayers can lead to interface Gilbert damping. Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) studies were carried out using magnetic single and double layer films. The FMR linewidth of the Fe films in the double layer structures was found to always be larger than the FMR linewidth measured for the single Fe films having the same thickness. The increase in the FMR linewidth scaled inversely with the film thickness, and was found to be linearly dependent on the microwave frequency. These results are in agreement with Berger's predictions. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics

Imaging and phase-locking of non-linear spin waves

Non-linear processes are a key feature in the emerging field of spin-wave based information processing and allow to convert uniform spin-wave excitations into propagating modes at different frequencies. Recently, the existence of non-linear magnons at half-integer multiples of the driving frequency has been predicted for Ni80Fe20 at low bias fields. However, it is an open question under which conditions such non-linear spin waves emerge coherently and how they may be used in device structures. Usually non-linear processes are explored in the small modulation regime and result in the well known three and four magnon scattering processes. Here we demonstrate and image a class of spin waves oscillating at half-integer harmonics that have only recently been proposed for the strong modulation regime. The direct imaging of these parametrically generated magnons in Ni80Fe20 elements allows to visualize their wave vectors. In addition, we demonstrate the presence of two degenerate phase states that may be selected by external phase-locking. These results open new possibilities for applications such as spin-wave sources, amplifiers and phase-encoded information processing with magnons