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arXiv · 2302.05000

Photocarrier Transport of Ferroelectric Photovoltaic Thin Films Detected by the Magnetic Dynamics of Adjacent Ferromagnetic Layers

Yujun Zhang·Ji Ma·Keisuke Ikeda·Yasuyuki Hirata·Kohei Yamagami·Christian Schüßler-Langeheine·Niko Pontius·Yuanhua Lin·Cewen Nan·Hiroki Wadati
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Abstract

We have observed photocarrier transport behaviors in BiFeO$_3$/La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$MnO$_3$~(BFO/LSMO) heterostructures by using time-resolved synchrotron x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in reflectivity. The magnetization of LSMO layers was used as a probe of photo-induced carrier dynamics in the photovoltaic BFO layers. During the photo-induced demagnetization process, the decay time of LSMO~($x$=0.2) magnetization strongly depends on the ferroelectric polarization direction of the BFO layer. The variation of decay time should be attributed to the different sign of accumulated photocarriers at the BFO/LSMO interface induced by the photovoltaic effect of the BFO layer. The photocarriers can reach the BFO/LSMO interface and influence the magnetization distribution in the LSMO layers within the timescale of $\sim$100~ps. Our results provide a novel strategy to investigate carrier dynamics and mechanisms of optical control of magnetization in thin film heterostructures.

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Yujun Zhang, Ji Ma, Keisuke Ikeda, Yasuyuki Hirata, Kohei Yamagami, Christian Schüßler-Langeheine, Niko Pontius, Yuanhua Lin, Cewen Nan, Hiroki Wadati. 2023-02-10. Photocarrier Transport of Ferroelectric Photovoltaic Thin Films Detected by the Magnetic Dynamics of Adjacent Ferromagnetic Layers. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.107.l220303

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