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Absorption and generation of femtosecond laser-pulse excited spin currents in noncollinear magnetic bilayers

Absorption and generation of femtosecond laser-pulse excited spin currents in noncollinear... Spin currents can be generated on an ultrafast time scale by excitation of a ferromagnetic (FM) thin film with a femtosecond laser pulse. Recently, it has been demonstrated that these ultrafast spin currents can transport angular momentum to neighboring FM layers, being able to change both the magnitude and orientation of the magnetization in the adjacent layer. In this paper, both the generation and absorption of these optically excited spin currents are investigated. This is done using noncollinear magnetic bilayers, i.e., two FM layers separated by a conductive spacer. Spin currents are generated in a Co/Ni multilayer with out-of-plane (OOP) anisotropy, and absorbed by a Co layer with an in-plane (IP) anisotropy. This behavior is confirmed by careful analysis of the laser-pulse induced magnetization dynamics, whereafter it is demonstrated that the transverse spin current is absorbed very locally near the injection interface of the IP layer (90% within the first ≈2 nm). Moreover, it will also be shown that this local absorption results in the excitation of THz standing spin waves within the IP layer. The dispersion measured for these high-frequency spin waves shows a discrepancy with respect to the theoretical predictions, for which an explanation involving intermixed interface regions is proposed. Lastly, the spin current generation is investigated by using magnetic bilayers with a different number of repeats for the Co/Ni multilayer, which proves to be of great relevance for identifying the optical spin current generation mechanism. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Physical Review B American Physical Society (APS)

Absorption and generation of femtosecond laser-pulse excited spin currents in noncollinear magnetic bilayers

Absorption and generation of femtosecond laser-pulse excited spin currents in noncollinear magnetic bilayers

Physical Review B , Volume 96 (1) – Jul 13, 2017

Abstract

Spin currents can be generated on an ultrafast time scale by excitation of a ferromagnetic (FM) thin film with a femtosecond laser pulse. Recently, it has been demonstrated that these ultrafast spin currents can transport angular momentum to neighboring FM layers, being able to change both the magnitude and orientation of the magnetization in the adjacent layer. In this paper, both the generation and absorption of these optically excited spin currents are investigated. This is done using noncollinear magnetic bilayers, i.e., two FM layers separated by a conductive spacer. Spin currents are generated in a Co/Ni multilayer with out-of-plane (OOP) anisotropy, and absorbed by a Co layer with an in-plane (IP) anisotropy. This behavior is confirmed by careful analysis of the laser-pulse induced magnetization dynamics, whereafter it is demonstrated that the transverse spin current is absorbed very locally near the injection interface of the IP layer (90% within the first ≈2 nm). Moreover, it will also be shown that this local absorption results in the excitation of THz standing spin waves within the IP layer. The dispersion measured for these high-frequency spin waves shows a discrepancy with respect to the theoretical predictions, for which an explanation involving intermixed interface regions is proposed. Lastly, the spin current generation is investigated by using magnetic bilayers with a different number of repeats for the Co/Ni multilayer, which proves to be of great relevance for identifying the optical spin current generation mechanism.

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Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Copyright
Copyright © ©2017 American Physical Society
ISSN
1098-0121
eISSN
1550-235X
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.96.014417
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Spin currents can be generated on an ultrafast time scale by excitation of a ferromagnetic (FM) thin film with a femtosecond laser pulse. Recently, it has been demonstrated that these ultrafast spin currents can transport angular momentum to neighboring FM layers, being able to change both the magnitude and orientation of the magnetization in the adjacent layer. In this paper, both the generation and absorption of these optically excited spin currents are investigated. This is done using noncollinear magnetic bilayers, i.e., two FM layers separated by a conductive spacer. Spin currents are generated in a Co/Ni multilayer with out-of-plane (OOP) anisotropy, and absorbed by a Co layer with an in-plane (IP) anisotropy. This behavior is confirmed by careful analysis of the laser-pulse induced magnetization dynamics, whereafter it is demonstrated that the transverse spin current is absorbed very locally near the injection interface of the IP layer (90% within the first ≈2 nm). Moreover, it will also be shown that this local absorption results in the excitation of THz standing spin waves within the IP layer. The dispersion measured for these high-frequency spin waves shows a discrepancy with respect to the theoretical predictions, for which an explanation involving intermixed interface regions is proposed. Lastly, the spin current generation is investigated by using magnetic bilayers with a different number of repeats for the Co/Ni multilayer, which proves to be of great relevance for identifying the optical spin current generation mechanism.

Journal

Physical Review BAmerican Physical Society (APS)

Published: Jul 13, 2017

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