Nanowerk February 17, 2020
When complex material systems are exposed to ultrashort light pulses of only a few tens of femtosecond duration the light pulse can also permanently reverse the magnetization. Researchers in Germany show that an optical inter-site spin transfer (OISTR) from Pt to Co emerges as a dominant mechanism governing the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of a CoPt alloy. To demonstrate this, they performed a joint theoretical and experimental investigation to determine the transient changes of the helicity dependent absorption in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. They showed that the helicity dependent absorption is directly related to changes of the transient spin-split density of states. This makes OISTR a general phenomenon in optical manipulation of multi-component magnetic systems. The findings pave the road to a rational design of new functional magnetic materials, allowing for ultrafast control of magnetization via laser pulses…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Simple picture of the electron reservoirs of magnetic atoms in a CoPt-alloy. (Image: MBI)