1. Ultrafast signatures of magnetic inhomogeneity in Pd1−xFex (x ≤ 0.08) epitaxial thin films
- Author
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Andrey V. Petrov, Sergey I. Nikitin, Lenar R. Tagirov, Amir I. Gumarov, Igor V. Yanilkin, and Roman V. Yusupov
- Subjects
magnetic inhomogeneities ,pdfe alloy ,thin epitaxial films ,time-resolved magneto-optical kerr effect ,time-resolved optical spectroscopy ,Technology ,Chemical technology ,TP1-1185 ,Science ,Physics ,QC1-999 - Abstract
A series of Pd1−xFex alloy epitaxial films (x = 0, 0.038, 0.062, and 0.080), a material promising for superconducting spintronics, was prepared and studied with ultrafast optical and magneto-optical laser spectroscopy in a wide temperature range of 4–300 K. It was found that the transition to the ferromagnetic state causes a qualitative change of both the reflectivity and the magneto-optical Kerr effect transients. A nanoscale magnetic inhomogeneity of the ferromagnet/paramagnet type inherent in the palladium-rich Pd1−xFex alloys reveals itself through the occurrence of a relatively slow, 10–25 ps, photoinduced demagnetization component following a subpicosecond one; the former vanishes at low temperatures only in the x = 0.080 sample. We argue that the 10 ps timescale demagnetization originates most probably from the diffusive transport of d electrons under the condition of nanoscale magnetic inhomogeneities. The low-temperature fraction of the residual paramagnetic phase can be deduced from the magnitude of the slow reflectivity relaxation component. It is estimated as ≈30% for x = 0.038 and ≈15% for x = 0.062 films. The minimal iron content ensuring the magnetic homogeneity of the ferromagnetic state in the Pd1−xFex alloy at low temperatures is about 7–8 atom %.
- Published
- 2022
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