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The impact of plasmonic surface lattice resonances on the magneto-optical properties and energy absorption efficiency has been studied in arrays of [Co/Gd/Pt]

National audience; Portée par l’internet des objets et l’intelligence artificielle, la quantité de données générées et stockées augmente de manière exponentielle. A l’horizon 2030, 20 % de l’électricité mondiale sera utilisée pour le stockage et la gestion des données. Une très large majorité des données est stockée sur des surfaces magnétiques. Nous démontrons que nous pouvons retourner l’aimantation d’une couche ferromagnétique, donc écrire de l’information, grâce à un seul pulse laser femto-seconde.

International audience; Terahertz (THz) emission from magnetic films has recently become an important characterization tool of spintronic properties, particularly since no patterning is required. One such property of interest is the spin-current attenuation length. When separating a magnetic film from a spin-to-charge converter with a light metal, the emitted intensity reduces almost exponentially with the thickness of the spacer. However, the extracted characteristic length is more than an order of magnitude smaller than the spin diffusion length measured in equilibrium. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that most of the observed decay in the THz emission is of optical (THz) origin. We are able to estimate a spin current attenuation length for Cu of ∼50 nm in much closer agreement with spin diffusion length measurements. We conclude that THz emission remains a powerful characterization technique, but due to the high number of intricate conversion mechanisms, and most importantly, due to the high sensitivity to changes in the optical properties, extracting absolute numbers for spintronic phenomena remains extremely challenging.

We use ab initio real-time time-dependent density functional theory to investigate the effect of optical and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) circularly polarized femtosecond pulses on the magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic materials. We demonstrate that the light induces a helicity-dependent reduction of the magnitude of the magnetization. In the XUV regime, where the 3p semicore states are involved, a larger helicity dependence persisting even after the passage of light is exhibited. Finally, we were able to separate the part of the helicity-dependent dynamics due to the absorption from the part due to the inverse Faraday effect. Doing so, we show that the former has, overall, a greater impact on the magnetization than the latter, especially after the pulse and in the XUV regime. This work hints at the yet experimentally unexplored territory of the XUV light-induced helicity-dependent dynamics, which, according to our prediction, could magnify the helicity-dependent dynamics already exhibited in the optical regime.

International audience; All optical switching (AOS) of magnetization exhibits a high potential for ultrafast and energy-efficient memory applications. Many works have been carried out in the area of AOS, including its observation in a wide variety of ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials, and the exploration of the parameters for the achievements of AOS such as the laser fluence and helicity, and duration of laser pulses. A large majority of all optical helicity-independent single-shot switching (AO-HIS) has been observed in Gd-based rare-earth transition-metal ferrimagnets. It is then necessary to explore the unique role of Gd in AO-HIS mechanism, compared with other rare-earth elements. Here, we engineered Gd 1−x−y Tb y Co x alloys and investigated the influence of the Tb concentration on the magnetization dynamics via static Kerr microscope and time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE) measurements. The ultrafast demagnetization time at low fluence is found to be independent of Tb concentration, while both the range of laser fluence and pulse duration allowing for AO-HIS becomes narrower with increasing the Tb concentration. The TR-MOKE signal K / K_sat ∼ 10 ps after the laser pulse excitation decreases with increasing either the Tb concentration or the pulse duration. The fact that AO-HIS is prohibited by increasing the Tb content is explained by considering a larger damping for Tb than Gd in atomistic simulations. Our results are well explained by the fact that angular momentum can be transferred from Gd to Co resulting in the magnetization switching, whereas for Tb it is dissipated through the lattice due to the large spin-orbit coupling, instead of being transferred between Tb and Co.

The development of approaches that can efficiently control the magnetization of magnetic materials is central to the creation of fast and low-power spintronic devices. Spin transfer torque can be used to electrically manipulate magnetic order in devices, but is typically limited to nanosecond timescales. Alternatively, spin–orbit torque can be employed, and switching with current pulses down to ~200 ps has been demonstrated. However, the upper limit to magnetization switching speed remains unestablished. Here, we show that photoconductive switches can be used to apply 6-ps-wide electrical pulses and deterministically switch the out-of-plane magnetization of a common thin cobalt film via spin–orbit torque. We probe the ultrafast magnetization dynamics due to spin–orbit torques with sub-picosecond resolution using the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). We also estimate that the magnetization switching consumes less than 50 pJ in micrometre-sized devices. The magnetization of a cobalt thin film can be reversed by spin–orbit torques using picosecond electrical pulses that are generated by photoconductive switches.

Single-pulse magnetization switching by femtosecond laser pulses is the fastest way to manipulate magnetization. To date, among rare-earth transition metal alloys, single-pulse switching is limited to Gd-based structures. Here, we demonstrate ultrafast single-pulse switching of Tb-dominant CoTb alloys within several tens of picoseconds. Our further analysis shows that the ultrafast magnetization reversal is linked to ultrafast heating of laser pulses and an external field.

International audience; We review the phenomenology of light-induced ultrafast magnetization dynamics, with emphasis on metallic compounds. The interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with magnetic thin films induces a wide range of out of equilibrium phenomena, leading to an ultrafast demagnetization, and a subsequent magnetization dynamics. The latter can lead to a deterministic reversal of the magnetization or allow for the controlled motion of domain walls. Those light-induced magnetization manipulations have potential application for ultrafast and energy efficient spintronic. The review summarizes experimental results and theoretical approaches on demagnetization and the all-optical helicity-dependent switching of the magnetization, whose underlying mechanism(s) are still heavily debated, even after 25 years of intensive research.

Ultrafast magnetization switching induced by a single femtosecond laser pulse, under no applied magnetic field has attracted a lot of attention in the last 10 years because of its high potential for low-energy and ultrafast memory applications. Single-pulse helicity-independent switching has mostly been demonstrated for $\mathrm{Gd}$-based materials. It is now necessary to optimize the pulse duration and the energy needed to switch a $\mathrm{Gd}$-$\mathrm{Fe}$-$\mathrm{Co}$ magnet depending on the alloy thickness and composition. Here we experimentally report state diagrams showing the magnetic state obtained after one single pulse depending on the laser pulse duration and fluence for various $\mathrm{Gd}$-$\mathrm{Fe}$-$\mathrm{Co}$ thin films with different compositions and thicknesses. We demonstrate that these state diagrams share similar characteristics: the fluence window for switching narrows for longer pulse duration and for the considered pulse-duration range the critical fluence for single-pulse switching increases linearly as a function of the pulse duration while the critical fluence required for creating a multidomain state remains almost constant. Calculations based on the atomistic spin model qualitatively reproduce the experimental state diagrams and their evolution. By studying the effect of the composition and the thickness on the state diagram, we demonstrate that the best energy efficiency and the longest pulse duration for switching are obtained for composition around the magnetic compensation.

The generation of ultrashort hot-electron pulses in metallic heterostructures offers attractive perspectives for the ultrafast spin manipulation on the picosecond time scale. In such approach, the hot-electron pulses are produced by exciting a non-magnetic capping layer with femtosecond infrared laser pulses. These hot-electron pulses propagate towards a buried magnetic layer to trigger ultrafast demagnetization. Lately, it was shown that the demagnetization onset and characteristic demagnetization times are both affected by the transport regime (ballistic or diffusive) of the photo-excited hot-electrons. In this work, we show that the hot-electron pulses produced by photo-exciting a Al(3)/Ta(3)/Cu(60) capping layer undergo a temporal stretching and delays when they go across a [Co(0.1)/Ni(0.6)]x5 multilayer. These information were extracted from a study of hot-electron induced demagnetization in CoDy alloys by means of Time-Resolved X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism.

International audience; In this paper, we investigate the magnetic, optical, and lattice responses of a Pt/Cu/Bi 1 Y 2 Fe 5 O 12 /Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 heterostructure to femtosecond laser excitation of the opaque Pt/Cu metallic bilayer. The electronic excitation generates coherent and incoherent phonons, which trigger high-frequency standing spin waves (SWs) in the dielectric Bi 1 Y 2 Fe 5 O 12 layer via a phonon-induced change of magnetic anisotropy. We find that the incoherent phonons (heat) can induce a fast (1000 ps) decrease of the magnetic order by different spin-phonon interaction scenarios. These results open perspectives for generating high-frequency SWs in buried magnetic garnets.

Ultrashort optical pulses can trigger a variety of non-equilibrium processes in magnetic thin films affecting electrons and spins on femtosecond timescales. In order to probe the charge and magnetic degrees of freedom simultaneously, we developed an X-ray streaking technique that has the advantage of providing a jitter-free picture of absorption cross-section changes. In this paper, we present an experiment based on this approach, which we performed using five photon probing energies at the Ni M2,3-edges. This allowed us to retrieve the absorption and magnetic circular dichroism time traces, yielding detailed information on transient modifications of electron and spin populations close to the Fermi level. Our findings suggest that the observed absorption and magnetic circular dichroism dynamics both depend on the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) probing wavelength, and can be described, at least qualitatively, by assuming ultrafast energy shifts of the electronic and magnetic elemental absorption resonances, as reported in recent work. However, our analysis also hints at more complex changes, highlighting the need for further experimental and theoretical studies in order to gain a thorough understanding of the interplay of electronic and spin degrees of freedom in optically excited magnetic thin films.

We use time-resolved x-ray resonant magnetic scattering (TR-XRMS) at the Co ${M}_{2,3}$ and Tb ${O}_{1}$ edges to study ultrafast demagnetization in an amorphous ${\mathrm{Co}}_{88}{\mathrm{Tb}}_{12}$ alloy with stripe domains. Combining the femtosecond temporal with nanometer spatial resolution of our experiment, we demonstrate that the equilibrium spin texture of the thin film remains unaltered by the optical pump pulse on ultrashort timescales ($l1\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ps}$). However, after $\ensuremath{\simeq}4$ ps, we observe the onset of a significant domain wall broadening, which we attribute to a reduction of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of the system, due to energy transfer to the lattice. Static temperature-dependent magnetometry measurements combined with analytical modeling of the magnetic structure of the thin film corroborate this interpretation.

International audience; Since it was recently demonstrated in a spin-valve structure, magnetization reversal of a ferromagnetic layer using a single ultrashort optical pulse has attracted attention for future ultrafast and energy-efficient magnetic storage or memory devices. However, the mechanism and the role of the magnetic properties of the ferromagnet as well as the time scale of the magnetization switching are not understood. Here, we investigate single-shot all-optical magnetization switching in a GdFeCo/Cu/[Co x Ni 1−x /Pt] spinvalve structure. We demonstrate that the threshold fluence for switching both the GdFeCo and the ferromagnetic layer depends on the laser pulse duration and the thickness and the Curie temperature of the ferromagnetic layer. We are able to explain most of the experimental results using a phenomenological model. This work provides a way to engineer ferromagnetic materials for energy efficient single-shot all-optical magnetization switching.

International audience; When the spatial dimensions of metallic heterostructures shrink below the mean free path of its conduction electrons, the transport of electrons and hence the transport of thermal energy by electrons continuously changes from diffusive to ballistic. Electron-phonon coupling sets the mean free path to the nanoscale and the time for equilibration of electron and lattice temperatures to the picosecond range. A particularly intriguing situation occurs in trilayer heterostructures combining metals with very different electron-phonon coupling strength: Heat energy deposited in few atomic layers of Pt is transported into a nanometric Ni film, which is heated more than the Cu film through which the heat is released. Femtosecond pump-probe experiments with hard X-ray pulses provide a layer-specific probe of the heat energy. A purely diffusive two-temperature model with increased thermal conductivity of hot electrons excellently reproduces the observed signals from all three layers. At the time when the Ni lattice is maximally heated, no significant heat has entered the Cu lattice. This phenomenon would be enhanced in thinner layers where ballistic transport dominates. In this context it is shown that purely diffusive transport can lead to a linear time-to-length dependence that must not be misinterpreted as ballistic transport.

We have measured the hot-electron induced demagnetization of a [Co/Pt]2 multilayer in M(x nm)/Cu(100 nm)/[Co(0.6 nm)/Pt(1.1 nm)]2 samples depending on the nature of the capping layer M and its thickness x. We found out that a Pt layer is more efficient than [Co/Pt]X, Cu or MgO layers in converting IR photon pulses into hot-electron pulses at a given laser power. We also found out that the maximum relative demagnetization amplitude is reached for M(x) = Pt (7 nm). Our experimental results show qualitative agreement with numerical simulations based on the superdiffusive spin transport model. We concluded that the maximum relative demagnetization amplitude, which corresponds to the highest photon conversion into hot-electrons, is an interplay between the IR penetration depth and the hot-electron inelastic mean free path within the capping layer., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

Engineering of magnetic materials for developing better spintronic applications relies on the control of two key parameters: the spin polarization and the Gilbert damping, responsible for the spin angular momentum dissipation. Both of them are expected to affect the ultrafast magnetization dynamics occurring on the femtosecond timescale. Here, engineered Co

Reducing energy dissipation while increasing speed in computation and memory is a long-standing challenge for spintronics research. In the last 20 years, femtosecond lasers have emerged as a tool to control the magnetization in specific magnetic materials at the picosecond timescale. However, the use of ultrafast optics in integrated circuits and memories would require a major paradigm shift. An ultrafast electrical control of the magnetization is far preferable for integrated systems. Here we demonstrate reliable and deterministic control of the out-of-plane magnetization of a 1 nm-thick Co layer with single 6 ps-wide electrical pulses that induce spin-orbit torques on the magnetization. We can monitor the ultrafast magnetization dynamics due to the spin-orbit torques on sub-picosecond timescales, thus far accessible only by numerical simulations. Due to the short duration of our pulses, we enter a counter-intuitive regime of switching where heat dissipation assists the reversal. Moreover, we estimate a low energy cost to switch the magnetization, projecting to below 1fJ for a (20 nm)^3 cell. These experiments prove that spintronic phenomena can be exploited on picosecond time-scales for full magnetic control and should launch a new regime of ultrafast spin torque studies and applications., Includes article + supplementary information. Latest version uses full name of the first author. Nature Electronics (2020)

Ultrafast control of thin film nanomagnets using femtosecond laser pulses has attracted considerable attention for future ultrafast and energy-efficient photo-spintronics storage/memory devices. Si...

The SOLEIL synchrotron radiation source is regularly operated in special filling modes dedicated to pump–probe experiments. Among others, the low-α mode operation is characterized by shorter pulse duration and represents the natural bridge between 50 ps synchrotron pulses and femtosecond experiments. Here, the capabilities in low-α mode of the experimental set-ups developed at the TEMPO beamline to perform pump–probe experiments with soft X-rays based on photoelectron or photon detection are presented. A 282 kHz repetition-rate femtosecond laser is synchronized with the synchrotron radiation time structure to induce fast electronic and/or magnetic excitations. Detection is performed using a two-dimensional space resolution plus time resolution detector based on microchannel plates equipped with a delay line. Results of time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, circular dichroism and magnetic scattering experiments are reported, and their respective advantages and limitations in the framework of high-time-resolution pump–probe experiments compared and discussed. Fil: Silly, Mathieu G.. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Ferte, Tom. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Tordeux, Marie Agnes. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Pierucci, Debora. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Beaulieu, Nathan. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Chauvet, Christian. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Pressacco, Federico. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Sirotti, Fausto. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Popescu, Horia. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Lopez Flores, Victor. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Tortarolo, Marina del Carmen. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Sacchi, Maurizio. Universite de Paris Vi. Institut des Nanosciences de Paris; Francia Fil: Jaouen, Nicolas. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Hollander, Philippe. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Ricaud, Jean Paul. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Bergeard, Nicolas. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Boeglin, Christine. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Tudu, Bharati. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Delaunay, Renaud. Universite de Paris VI; Francia Fil: Luning, Jan. Universite de Paris VI; Francia Fil: Malinowski, Gregory. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Hehn, Michel. Synchrotron Soleil; Francia Fil: Baumier, Cedric. Université Paris Sud; Francia Fil: Fortuna, Franck. Université Paris Sud; Francia Fil: Krizmancic, Damjan. Elettra - Synchrotron Light Laboratory; Italia Fil: Stebel, Luigi. Elettra - Synchrotron Light Laboratory; Italia Fil: Sergo, Rudi. Elettra - Synchrotron Light Laboratory; Italia Fil: Cautero, Giuseppe. Elettra - Synchrotron Light Laboratory; Italia

All‐optical helicity‐dependent switching in ferromagnetic layers has revealed an unprecedented route to manipulate magnetic configurations by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses. In this work, rare‐earth free synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures made from two antiferromagnetically exchange coupled ferromagnetic layers are studied. Experimental results, supported by numerical simulations, show that the designed structures enable all‐optical switching which is controlled, not only by light helicity, but also by the relative Curie temperature of each ferromagnetic layer. Indeed, through the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling, the layer with the larger Curie temperature determines the final orientation of the other layer and so the synthetic ferrimagnet. For similar Curie temperatures, helicity‐independent back switching is observed and the final magnetic configuration is solely determined by the initial magnetic state. This demonstration of electrically‐detected, optical control of engineered rare‐earth free heterostructures opens a novel route toward practical opto‐spintronics., All‐optical helicity‐dependent switching in synthetic ferrimagnetic samples made of two exchanged coupled ferromagnetic layers is shown to depend on the respective Curie temperature of each layer. By varying the CoFeB layer thickness, its Curie temperature can be tuned. Consequently, the switching is set not only by the light helicity but also by the CoFeB thickness.

International audience; We investigate spin-wave resonance modes and their damping in insulating thin films of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet by performing femtosecond magneto-optical pump-probe experiments. For large magnetic fields in the range below the magnetization saturation, we find that the damping of high-order standing spin-wave (SSW) modes is about 40 times lower than that for the fundamental one. The observed phenomenon can be explained by considering different features of magnetic anisotropy and exchange fields that, respectively, define the precession frequency for fundamental and high-order SSWs. These results provide further insight into SSWs in iron garnets and may be exploited in many new photomagnonic devices.

International audience; During the past few years high-order harmonic generation (HHG) has opened up the field of ultrafast spectroscopy to an ever larger community by providing a table-top and affordable femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft-x-ray source. In particular, the field of femtomagnetism has largely benefited from the development of these sources. However, the use of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) as a probe of magnetization, the most versatile and reliable one, has been constrained by the lack of polarization control at HHG sources, so studies have relied on more specific magneto-optical effects. Even the recent developments on the generation of elliptically polarized harmonics have only resulted in a few time-resolved experiments relying on this powerful technique since they add complexity to already-difficult measurements. In this article we show how to easily probe magnetization dynamics with linearly polarized EUV or soft-x-ray light with a versatility similar to XMCD by exploiting the Faraday effect. Static and time-resolved measurements of the Faraday effect are presented around the Co M edges. Using simple theoretical considerations, we show how to retrieve the samples magnetization dynamics from the Faraday rotation and ellipticity transients. Ultrafast demagnetization dynamics of a few nanometers in Co-based samples are measured with this method in out-of-plane as well as in-plane magnetization configurations, showing its great potential for the study of femtomagnetism.

All-optical helicity-dependent switching in ferromagnetic Co/Pt multilayers is investigated using magneto-optical microscopy and anomalous Hall effect measurements. A state diagram is built by studying the effect of pulse duration, fluence, and spot size. We use numerical solutions of the three-temperature model to explain that the all-optical helicity-dependent switching mechanism relies on the spin bath reaching temperatures close to the Curie point. Further insights into the reversal process are provided by the experimental demonstration of significant helicity-dependent reversal after a single laser pulse that reveals the involvement of direct angular momentum transfer. Moreover, based on the observation that longer pulse durations and larger spot sizes lead to enhanced reversal efficiency, we identify experimental conditions that lead to saturated magnetization reversal after just a few tens of laser pulses.

International audience; All-optical switching refers to the magnetization reversal induced by ultrashort laser pulses. Both single-pulse all-optical helicity-independent switching and multiple pulses all-optical helicity-dependent switching have been reported for GdFeCo thin films. In this paper, we demonstrate that for two GdFeCo compositions, the transition between these two behaviors can appear by increasing the thickness of the Pt capping or by tuning the laser fluence. The two types of switching cannot be observed for the same set of parameters, which supports that their mechanisms are uncorrelated. Our calculations indicate that the transition may be induced by a strong inhomogeneity of the electronic temperature within the thickness of the GdFeCo layer in the subpicosecond timescale.

International audience; We present ab initio calculations of the electronic temperature dependence of the magnetization, electronic energy, and specific heat of FePt L1 0 , fcc-Ni, hcp-Co, and bcc-Fe. We find that atomic magnetic moments in each compound disappear at very high temperature, ranging from 3100 to 8100 K. However, for some compounds, the consequences of this phenomenon are noticeable on the electronic energy and specific heat even at low electronic temperature. Consequently, large deviations from the Sommerfeld approximation and from some previous work that did not take into account explicitly the dependence of the electronic structure on the electronic temperature are shown. Our results are of interest in the field of laser-induced ultrafast magnetization dynamics, since they provide a more precise estimate of the electronic specific heat that enters in the three-temperature model.

International audience; We demonstrate that femtosecond laser pulses allow triggering high-frequency standing spin-wave modes in nanoscale thin films of a bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet. By varying the strength of the external magnetic field, we prove that two distinct branches of the dispersion relation are excited for all the modes. This is reflected in particular at a very weak magnetic field (∼33 mT) by a spin dynamics with a frequency up to 15 GHz, which is 15 times higher than the one associated with the ferromagnetic resonance mode. We argue that this phenomenon is triggered by ultrafast changes of the magnetic anisotropy via laser excitation of incoherent and coherent phonons. These findings open exciting prospects for ultrafast photo magnonics. The continuous demand for more energy efficient and faster data transport and processing devices has triggered intense research activity to carry information with other means than the electron charge, which is associated with an inevitable Joule heating in current semiconductor-based information technologies [1]. One of the most promising ways to achieve this goal is the use of the coherent collective excitation of spins in magnetic materials, commonly known as magnons or spin waves (SWs) [2-5]. These waves can propagate in both metallic and dielectric magnetic media without involving any charge transport, which avoids the Joule heating, and therefore reduces substantially the power consumption for data processing. Besides this energy efficiency, using SWs offers other important advantages for ultrafast nanoscale computation due to their broad high frequency range from GHz to THz and tunable wavelength down to the nanoscale [6]. From a fundamental point of view, SWs exhibit remarkably rich physics involving both dipolar and exchange interactions [6,7]. This is reflected by versatile dispersion relations containing magnetostatic and exchange modes, which can either be tuned by an external magnetic field (H ext) and/or the sample size [3,6]. In this context, intense research is being carried out to understand the generation, propagation, manipulation, and detection of SWs in a continuously growing field of modern magnetism called magnonics [2-5]. Because of its low magnetic damping constant, the yttrium iron garnet (YIG) has attracted a lot of attention in the field of magnonics [8]. Indeed, many important magnetostatic SWs based devices have been realized using YIG during the last decade [9-12]. However, due to the small saturation magnetization of YIG together with the restrictions imposed by the size of the microwave antennas on the excited SWs wavelength with the standard method of microwave magnetic fields, magnetostatic SWs frequencies in such devices did not exceed a few GHz at low field, which is a major limiting factor for ultrafast applications. On the other hand, due to the strong exchange interaction between spins, the exchange SWs mode can have higher frequencies compared to the magnetostatic one. The possibility of triggering such exchange modes requires a nonuniform dynamical field across the magnetic film thickness [13], which is very challenging to induce using microwave antennas [13-15]. Recently, femtosecond laser pulses have been used as an efficient stimulus to excite a coherent spin precession [16,17]. In particular, it was demonstrated that femtosecond laser pulses can excite exchange standing SWs (SSWs) in metallic [18,19] and semiconductor [20,21] ferromagnets via thermal processes. On the other hand, most studies on iron garnets have been dedicated to the excitation and control of the homogenous resonance mode (k ¼ 0, i.e., low frequency) via nonthermal excitation mechanisms [22-29]. An important question in this context concerns the possibility to take advantage of femtosecond laser pulses for triggering a high frequency SSW in dielectric thin films of iron garnets. In this Letter, we demonstrate femtosecond laser-excited high frequency even and odd SSWs in nanoscale films of Bi-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG). Bi-YIG materials have, in addition to a low damping [30], very large magneto-optical Faraday effects [31], which make them well adapted for new photo magnonics devices. By varying the strength of the external applied magnetic field H ext , we demonstrate two distinct branches of the dispersion relation PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 123, 027202 (2019) 0031-9007=19=123(2)=027202(6) 027202-1

In magnetic wires with perpendicular anisotropy, moving domain with only current or only circularly polarized light requires a high power. Here, we propose to reduce it by using both short current pulses and femtosecond laser pulses simultaneously. The wires were made out of perpendicularly magnetized film of Pt/Co/Ni/Co/Pt. The displacement of the domain wall is found to be dependent on the laser helicity. Based on a quantitative analysis of the current-induced domain wall motion, the spin orbit torque contribution can be neglected when compared to the spin transfer torque contribution. The effective field of the spin transfer torque is extracted from the pulsed field domain wall measurements. Finally, our result can be described using the Fatuzzo-Labrune model and considering the effective field due to the polarized laser beam, the effective field due to spin transfer torque, and the Gaussian temperature distribution of the laser spot., 14 pages, 4 figures

By conducting helicity-dependent ultrafast magnetization dynamics in a CoTb ferrimagnetic alloy, we are able to quantitatively determine the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and resolve its role in the helicity-dependent all-optical switching (AOS). Unequivocal interpretation of the sign of the dichroism is provided by performing AOS and femtosecond laser-induced domain wall motion experiments. We demonstrate that AOS occurs when the magnetization is initially in the most absorbent state, according to the light helicity. Moreover, we evidence that the MCD creates a thermal gradient that drives a domain wall toward hotter regions. Our experimental results are in agreement with the purely thermal models of AOS.

International audience; We use density functional theory to quantitatively compute the effect of light absorption in ferromagnetic materials. We show that, in the presence of spin-orbit coupling, optically induced transitions do not conserve the magnetization and that a systematic induced demagnetization, whose magnitude depends on both the helicity of the light and the direction of the magnetization, is observed. Very differently from the inverse Faraday effect, this mechanism is due to the absorption of light and depends on the magnetic state of each atom, and therefore cannot be described by an effective optomagnetic field. Then, based on these results, we derive a set of parameters which can be used in micromagnetic simulations in order to account for light transition effects on the magnetization dynamics. To face the continuing demand for large density and energy efficient data storage devices, the possibilities of magnetiza-tion manipulation without using a magnetic field are widely being investigated [1]. One of the promising candidates is the all-optical helicity-dependent switching (AO-HDS), as it allows the control of the magnetization state by only using circularly left (σ +) or right (σ −) polarized light pulses of a few tens of femtoseconds. AO-HDS has been observed in a wide range of materials such as GdFeCo ferrimagnetic alloys [2], rare earth-transition metal alloys and multilayers [3,4], and FePt L1 0 granular media [5] which is considered promising for ultrahigh-density storage devices. This outstanding diversity of materials suggests a common underlying mechanism, although it remains debated. To explain the AO-HDS, the two theoretical explanations usually invoked in the literature are the inverse Faraday effect (IFE) [2,4-6] and a difference of absorption induced by the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) [7,8]. While the IFE was first introduced to describe the influence of the presence of a circularly polarized light on the magnetic state of transparent media [9], Battiato et al. showed that, without any assumption on the nature of the material, light generates a static contribution at the second-order perturbation in the density matrix [10,11], which they hold responsible for the IFE in lossy media. However, in this approach [10] the repopulation at the origin of the IFE does not grow linearly with time, as it would be the case for an absorption-related phenomenon, and it fades away after the perturbation has been switched off. This fact leaves a gap between the IFE and the mechanism involved in the irreversible change of magnetization leading to the AO-HDS phenomenon [12]. Then, using this formulation and density functional theory, Berritta et al. [13] computed the value of this contribution for different types of materials. Conversely , the second effect, due to MCD, relies on a difference of absorption inducing a different temperature depending on * philippe.scheid@univ-lorraine.fr the relative orientation of the magnetization and the helicity of the light. Through this thermal effect, the switching probability depends on the magnetization orientation, as shown by several parametrized models [7,8]. Moreover, its probabilistic and absorption-based nature is in agreement with the fact that the AO-HDS phenomenon is cumulative, i.e., it requires multiple pulses [4], as well as a large absorptivity of the compound.

International audience; We report an element-and time-resolved investigation of femtosecond laser induced ultrafast dynamics of the Co 3d and Dy 4f spins in a ferrimagnetic Co80Dy20 alloy as a function of the temperature. We observe that the Co characteristic demagnetization time (τCo) remains nearly constant (~0.2 ps) on increasing the temperature. Conversely, the Dy characteristic demagnetization time (τDy) decreases from ~1 ps to ~0.4 ps with the rise of temperature. Comparing our experimental data with literature shows that τCo and τDy are independent of the alloy composition or the demagnetization amplitude and that τDy scales with the relative temperature T* = TCurie-T.

International audience; Using specially engineered structures to tailor the optical absorption in a metallic multilayer, we analyze the magnetization dynamics of a Co=Pt multilayer buried below a thick Cu layer. We demonstrate that hot electrons alone can very efficiently induce ultrafast demagnetization. Simulations based on hot electron ballistic transport implemented within a microscopic model that accounts for local dissipation of angular momentum nicely reproduce the experimental results, ruling out contribution of pure thermal transport.

Logic computing in magnetic domain walls is investigated using the interplay of all-optical helicity-dependent switching and current-induced spin–orbit torque switching. By simultaneously controlling current and laser pulses, logic functions of AND, OR, NAND, and NOR are experimentally demonstrated through the anomalous Hall effect and verified by micromagnetic simulations. The optoelectronic domain-wall motion is energy-efficient compared to the traditional all-current approach and provides another degree of freedom for the realization of logic applications.

Engineering of magnetic materials for developing better spintronic applications relies on the control of two key parameters: the spin polarization and the Gilbert damping, responsible for the spin angular momentum dissipation. Both of them are expected to affect the ultrafast magnetization dynamics occurring on the femtosecond timescale. Here, engineered Co2 MnAlx Si1- x Heusler compounds are used to adjust the degree of spin polarization at the Fermi energy, P, from 60% to 100% and to investigate how they correlate with the damping. It is experimentally demonstrated that the damping decreases when increasing the spin polarization from 1.1 × 10-3 for Co2 MnAl with 63% spin polarization to an ultralow value of 4.6 × 10-4 for the half-metallic ferromagnet Co2 MnSi. This allows the investigation of the relation between these two parameters and the ultrafast demagnetization time characterizing the loss of magnetization occurring after femtosecond laser pulse excitation. The demagnetization time is observed to be inversely proportional to 1 - P and, as a consequence, to the magnetic damping, which can be attributed to the similarity of the spin angular momentum dissipation processes responsible for these two effects. Altogether, the high-quality Heusler compounds allow control over the band structure and therefore the channel for spin angular momentum dissipation.

All-optical ultrafast magnetization switching in magnetic material thin film without the assistance of an applied external magnetic field is explored for future ultrafast and energy-efficient magnetic storage and memories. It is shown that femtosecond (fs) light pulses induce magnetization reversal in a large variety of magnetic materials. However, so far, only GdFeCo-based ferrimagnetic thin films exhibit magnetization switching via a single optical pulse. Here, the single-pulse switching of Co/Pt multilayers within a magnetic spin-valve structure ([Co/Pt]/Cu/GdFeCo) is demonstrated and four possible magnetic configurations of the spin valve can be accessed using a sequence of single fs light pulses. The experimental study reveals that the magnetization final state of the ferromagnetic [Co/Pt] layer is determined by spin-polarized currents generated by the light pulse interactions with the GdFeCo layer. This work provides an approach to deterministically switch ferromagnetic layers and a pathway to engineering materials for opto-magnetic multi-bit recording.

International audience; Understanding and controlling the magnetization dynamics on the femtosecond timescale is becoming indispensable both at the fundamental level and to develop future technological applications. While direct laser excitation of a ferromagnetic layer was commonly used during the past twenty years, laser induced hot-electrons femtosecond pulses and subsequent transport in magnetic multilayers has attracted a lot of attention. Indeed, replacing photons by hot-electrons offers complementary information to improve our understanding of ultrafast magnetization dynamics and to provide new possibilities for manipulating the magnetization in a thin layer on the femtosecond timescale. In this review, we report on experiments of hot-electrons induced ultrafast magnetic phenomena. We discuss the role of hot-electrons transport in the ultrafast loss of magnetization in magnetic single and multilayers and how it is exploited to trigger magnetization dynamics in magnetic multilayers.

We investigate spin-orbit torque (SOT)-induced switching in rare-earth-transition metal ferrimagnetic alloys using W/CoTb bilayers. The switching current is found to vary continuously with the alloy concentration, and no reduction in the switching current is observed at the magnetic compensation point despite a very large SOT efficiency. A model based on coupled Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert (LLG) equations shows that the switching current density scales with the effective perpendicular anisotropy which does not exhibit strong reduction at the magnetic compensation, explaining the behavior of the switching current density. This model also suggests that conventional SOT effective field measurements do not allow one to conclude whether the spins are transferred to one sublattice or just simply to the net magnetization. The effective spin Hall angle measurement shows an enhancement of the spin Hall angle with the Tb concentration which suggests an additional SOT contribution from the rare earth Tb atoms.

Using femtosecond optical pulses, we have investigated the ultrafast magnetization dynamics induced in a dielectric film of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG) buried below a thick Cu/Pt metallic bilayer. We show that exciting the sample from Pt surface launches an acoustic strain pulse propagating into the garnet film. We discovered that this strain pulse induces a coherent magnetization precession in the Bi-YIG at the frequency of the ferromagnetic resonance. The observed phenomena can be explain by strain-induced changes of magnetocristalline anisotropy via the inverse magnetostriction effect. These findings open new perspectives toward the control of the magnetization in magnetic garnets embedded in complex heterostructure devices., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures

Ultrafast dynamics are generally investigated using stroboscopic pump-probe measurements, which characterize the sample properties for a single, specific time delay. These measurements are then repeated for a series of discrete time delays to reconstruct the overall time trace of the process. As a consequence, this approach is limited to the investigation of fully reversible phenomena. We recently introduced an off-axis zone plate based X-ray streaking technique, which overcomes this limitation by sampling the relaxation dynamics with a single femtosecond X-ray pulse streaked over a picosecond long time window. In this article we show that the X-ray absorption cross section can be employed as the contrast mechanism in this novel technique. We show that changes of the absorption cross section on the percent level can be resolved with this method. To this end we measure the ultrafast magnetization dynamics in CoDy alloy films. Investigating different chemical compositions and infrared pump fluences, we demonstrate the routine applicability of this technique. Probing in transmission the average magnetization dynamics of the entire film, our experimental findings indicate that the demagnetization time is independent of the specific infrared laser pump fluence. These results pave the way for the investigation of irreversible phenomena in a wide variety of scientific areas., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

International audience; The observation of all-optical helicity-dependent switching (AO-HDS) in ferri- and ferro-magnetic materials depends not only on the saturation magnetization, but on the magnetic domain size which takes into account the competition between the demagnetizing energy and the domain wall (DW) energy. In this paper, we study the optical response of Co/Pt multilayers for which perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be tuned using He+ -irradiation. This allows us to correlate the observation of AO-HDS with the magnetic properties of the He+ -irradiated multilayer. These results give direct evidence of the crucial role of the DW energy in the laser-induced switching process.

International audience; Magnetic skyrmions are topologically nontrivial spin textures which hold great promise as stable information carriers in spintronic devices at the nanoscale. One of the major challenges for developing novel skyrmionbased memory and logic devices is fast and controlled creation of magnetic skyrmions at ambient conditions. Here we demonstrate controlled generation of skyrmion bubbles and skyrmion bubble lattices from a ferromagnetic state in sputtered ultrathin magnetic films at room temperature by a single ultrafast (35 fs) laser pulse. The skyrmion bubble density increases with the laser fluence, and it finally becomes saturated, forming disordered hexagonal lattices. Moreover, we present that the skyrmion bubble lattice configuration leads to enhanced topological stability as compared to isolated skyrmions, suggesting its promising use in data storage. Our findings shed light on the optical approach to the skyrmion bubble lattice in commonly accessible materials, paving the road toward the emerging skyrmion-based memory and synaptic devices.

We report a systematic study of current-induced perpendicular magnetization switching in W/Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$/Al thin films with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Various Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$ ferrimagnetic alloys with different magnetic compensation temperatures are presented. The systems are characterized using MOKE, SQUID and anomalous Hall resistance at different cryostat temperature ranging from 10 K to 350 K. The current-switching experiments are performed in the spin-orbit torque geometry where the current pulses are injected in plane and the magnetization reversal is detected by measuring the Hall resistance. The full reversal magnetization has been observed in all samples. Some experimental results could only be explained by the strong sample heating effect during the current pulses injection. We have found that, for a given composition $x$ and switching polarity, the devices always reach the same temperature $\textit{T}_{switch}(x)$ before switching independently of the cryostat temperature. $\textit{T}_{switch}$ seems to scale with the Curie temperature of the Co$_{x}$Tb$_{1-x}$ ferrimagnetic alloys. This explains the evolution of the critical current (and critical current density) as a function of the alloy concentration. Future application could take advantages of this heating effect which allows reducing the in-plane external field. Unexpected double magnetization switching has been observed when the heat generated by the current allows crosses the compensation temperature., 18 pages, 7 figures. Supplementary: 7 pages, 7 figures

Deterministic all-optical control of magnetization without an applied magnetic field has been reported for different materials such as ferrimagnetic and ferromagnetic thin films and granular recording media. These findings have challenged the understanding of all-optical helicity-dependent switching of magnetization and opened many potential applications for future magnetic information, memory and storage technologies. Here we demonstrate optical control of an antiferromagnetic layer through the exchange bias interaction using the helicity of a femtosecond pulsed laser on IrMn/[Co/Pt]xN antiferromagnetic/ ferromagnetic heterostructures. We show controlled switching of the sign of the exchange bias field without any applied field, only by changing the helicity of the light, and quantify the influence of the laser fluence and the number of light pulses on the exchange bias control. We also present the combined effect of laser pulses and applied magnetic field. This study opens applications in spintronic devices where the exchange bias phenomenon is routinely used to fix the magnetization orientation of a magnetic layer in one direction., Comment: 6 pages / 7 figures

We have investigated ultrafast quenching of the Tb4f magnetic order in Co74Tb26 alloys, induced by femtosecond hot-electrons pulses. The hot-electron pulses were produced in specific non-magnetic capping layers by infrared fs laser pulses. Our experimental results show that sub-picosecond dynamics of Tb4f magnetic moments can be induced by non-thermal and thermal hot-electrons. We further demonstrate that the demagnetization efficiencies of non-thermal and thermal hot electrons are similar. However, the characteristic demagnetization times show values of 0.35 ps for non-thermal hot-electrons excitations and 1.2 ps for thermal hot-electrons excitations. We explain this temporal elongation by the propagation time of thermal hot-electrons through the 15 nm thick CoTb film., Comment: 14 pages, 3 Figures and 1 Table

Domain wall displacement in Co/Pt thin films induced by not only fs- but also ps-laser pulses is demonstrated using time-resolved magneto-optical Faraday imaging. We evidence multi-pulse helicity-dependent laser-induced domain wall motion in all-optical switchable Co/Pt multilayers with a laser energy below the switching threshold. Domain wall displacement of about 2 nm per 2- ps pulse is achieved. By investigating separately the effect of linear and circular polarization, we reveal that laser-induced domain wall motion results from a complex interplay between pinning, temperature gradient and helicity effect. Then, we explore the microscopic origin of the helicity effect acting on the domain wall. These experimental results enhance the understanding of the mechanism of all-optical switching in ultra-thin ferromagnetic films., 8 pages, 4 figures