Spin-orbit torque-mediated spin-wave excitation as an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism
Abstract
Laser-induced femtosecond demagnetization, femtomagnetism, provides a potential route to develop faster magnetic storage devices. It is generally thought that the traditional spin-wave theory, which is developed for thermally driven slow demagnetization, cannot explain this rapid demagnetization by design. Here, we show that this traditional spin-wave theory, once augmented by laser-induced spin–orbit torque, provides a highly efficient paradigm for demagnetization, by capturing low-energy spin-wave excitation that is absent in existing mechanisms. Our paradigm is different from existing ones but does not exclude them. Microscopically, we find that optical spin–orbit torque generates massive spin waves across several hundred lattice sites, collapsing the long-range spin-spin correlation within 20 fs. Our result does not only explain new experiments but also establishes an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism. It is expected to have far-reaching impacts on future research.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[3]
- Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute, IN (United States)
- Univ. of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (United States)
- Nanjing Univ. (China)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Univ. of California, Oakland, CA (United States); Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute, IN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1577605
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1593955
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; FG02-06ER46304
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Applied Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 126; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
Citation Formats
Zhang, Guo Ping, Murakami, M., Bai, Y. H., George, Thomas F., and Wu, X. S. Spin-orbit torque-mediated spin-wave excitation as an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1063/1.5110522.
Zhang, Guo Ping, Murakami, M., Bai, Y. H., George, Thomas F., & Wu, X. S. Spin-orbit torque-mediated spin-wave excitation as an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5110522
Zhang, Guo Ping, Murakami, M., Bai, Y. H., George, Thomas F., and Wu, X. S. Thu .
"Spin-orbit torque-mediated spin-wave excitation as an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5110522. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1577605.
@article{osti_1577605,
title = {Spin-orbit torque-mediated spin-wave excitation as an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism},
author = {Zhang, Guo Ping and Murakami, M. and Bai, Y. H. and George, Thomas F. and Wu, X. S.},
abstractNote = {Laser-induced femtosecond demagnetization, femtomagnetism, provides a potential route to develop faster magnetic storage devices. It is generally thought that the traditional spin-wave theory, which is developed for thermally driven slow demagnetization, cannot explain this rapid demagnetization by design. Here, we show that this traditional spin-wave theory, once augmented by laser-induced spin–orbit torque, provides a highly efficient paradigm for demagnetization, by capturing low-energy spin-wave excitation that is absent in existing mechanisms. Our paradigm is different from existing ones but does not exclude them. Microscopically, we find that optical spin–orbit torque generates massive spin waves across several hundred lattice sites, collapsing the long-range spin-spin correlation within 20 fs. Our result does not only explain new experiments but also establishes an alternative paradigm for femtomagnetism. It is expected to have far-reaching impacts on future research.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5110522},
journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
number = 10,
volume = 126,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {9}
}
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