arXiv subjects

A. V. Kimel

Publications and source records attributed to A. V. Kimel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Laser-induced THz magnetism of antiferromagnetic CoF$_2$

Excitation, detection and control of coherent THz magnetic excitation in antiferromagnets are challenging problems that can be addressed using ever shorter laser pulses. We study experimentally excitation of magnetic dynamics at THz frequencies in an antiferromagnetic insulator CoF$_2$ by sub-10 fs laser pulses. Time-resolved pump-probe polarimetric measurements at different temperatures and probe polarizations reveal laser-induced transient circular birefringence oscillating at the frequency of 7.45 THz and present below the Néel temperature. The THz oscillations of circular birefringence are ascribed to oscillations of the magnetic moments of Co$^{2+}$ ions induced by the laser-driven coherent E$_g$ phonon mode via the THz analogue of the transverse piezomagnetic effect. It is also shown that the same pulse launches coherent oscillations of the magnetic linear birefringence at the frequency of 3.4 THz corresponding to the two-magnon mode. Analysis of the probe polarization dependence of the transient magnetic linear birefringence at the frequency of the two-magnon mode enables identifying its symmetry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Ultrafast kinetics of the antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition in FeRh

Understanding how fast short-range interactions build up long-range order is one of the most intriguing topics in condensed matter physics. FeRh is a test specimen for studying this problem in magnetism, where the microscopic spin-spin exchange interaction is ultimately responsible for either ferro- or antiferromagnetic macroscopic order. Femtosecond laser excitation can induce ferromagnetism in antiferromagnetic FeRh, but the mechanism and dynamics of this transition are topics of intense debates. Employing double-pump THz emission spectroscopy has enabled us to dramatically increase the temporal detection window of THz emission probes of transient states without sacrificing any loss of resolution or sensitivity. It allows us to study the kinetics of emergent ferromagnetism from the femtosecond up to the nanosecond timescales in FeRh/Pt bilayers. Our results strongly suggest a latency period between the initial pump-excitation and the emission of THz radiation by ferromagnetic nuclei.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Training and pattern recognition by an opto-magnetic neural network

Neuromorphic computing aims to mimic the architecture of the human brain to carry out computational tasks that are challenging and much more energy consuming for standard hardware. Despite progress in several fields of physics and engineering, the realization of artificial neural networks which combine high operating speeds with fast and low-energy adaptability remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate an opto-magnetic neural network capable of learning and classification of digitized 3x3 characters exploiting local storage in the magnetic material. Using picosecond laser pulses, we find that micrometer sized synapses absorb well below 100 picojoule per synapse per laser pulse, with favorable scaling to smaller spatial dimensions. We thus succeeded in combining the speed and low-dissipation of optical networks with the low-energy adaptability and non-volatility of magnetism, providing a promising approach to fast and energy-efficient neuromorphic computing.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2021

Coherent spin-wave transport in an antiferromagnet

Magnonics is a research field complementary to spintronics, in which the quanta of spin waves (magnons) replace electrons as information carriers, promising less energy dissipation. The development of ultrafast nanoscale magnonic logic circuits calls for new tools and materials to generate coherent spin waves with frequencies as high, and wavelengths as short, as possible. Antiferromagnets can host spin waves at THz frequencies and are therefore seen as a future platform for the fastest and the least dissipative transfer of information. However, the generation of short-wavelength coherent propagating magnons in antiferromagnets has so far remained elusive. Here we report the efficient emission and detection of a nanometer-scale wavepacket of coherent propagating magnons in antiferromagnetic DyFeO3 using ultrashort pulses of light. The subwavelength nanoscale confinement of the laser field due to large absorption creates a strongly non-uniform spin excitation profile, thereby enabling the propagation of a broadband continuum of coherent THz spin waves. The wavepacket features magnons with detected wavelengths down to 125 nm and supersonic velocities up to 13 km/s that propagate over macroscopic distances. The long-sought source of coherent short-wavelength spin carriers demonstrated here opens up new prospects for THz antiferromagnetic magnonics and coherence mediated logic devices at THz frequencies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Excitation and Detection of THz Coherent Spin Waves in Antiferromagnetic $\mathrm{α-Fe_2O_3}$

The efficiency of ultrafast excitation of spins in antiferromagnetic $\mathrm{α-Fe_{2}O_{3}}$ using nearly single-cycle THz pulse is studied as a function of the polarization of the THz pulse and the sample temperature. Above the Morin point the most efficient excitation is achieved when the magnetic field of the THz pulse is perpendicular to the antiferromagnetically coupled spins. Using the experimental results and equations of motion for spins, we show that the mechanism of the spin excitation above and below the Morin point relies on magnetic-dipole interaction of the THz magnetic field with spins and the efficiency of the coupling is proportional to the time derivative of the magnetic field.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

THz Field-induced Spin Dynamics in Ferrimagnetic Iron Garnets

THz magnetization dynamics is excited in ferrimagnetic thulium iron garnet with a picosecond, single-cycle magnetic field pulse and seen as a high-frequency modulation of the magneto-optical Faraday effect. Data analysis combined with numerical modelling and evaluation of the effective Lagrangian allow us to conclude that the dynamics corresponds to the exchange mode excited by Zeeman interaction of the THz field with the antiferromagnetically coupled spins. We argue that THz-pump IR-probe experiments on ferrimagnets offer a unique tool for quantitative studies of dynamics and mechanisms to control antiferromagnetically coupled spins.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic order of Dy$^{3+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$ moments in antiferromagnetic DyFeO$_{3}$ probed by spin Hall magnetoresistance and spin Seebeck effect

We report on spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) and spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in single crystal of the rare-earth antiferromagnet DyFeO$_{3}$ with a thin Pt film contact. The angular shape and symmetry of the SMR at elevated temperatures reflect the antiferromagnetic order of the Fe$^{3+}$ moments as governed by the Zeeman energy, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We interpret the observed linear dependence of the signal on the magnetic field strength as evidence for field-induced order of the Dy$^{3+}$ moments up to room temperature. At and below the Morin temperature of 50$\,$K, the SMR monitors the spin-reorientation phase transition of Fe$^{3+}$ spins. Below 23$\,$K, additional features emerge that persist below 4$\,$K, the ordering temperature of the Dy$^{3+}$ magnetic sublattice. We conclude that the combination of SMR and SSE is a simple and efficient tool to study spin reorientation phase transitions and sublattice magnetizations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Ultrafast phononic switching of magnetization

Identifying an efficient pathway to change the order parameter via a subtle excitation of the coupled high-frequency mode is the ultimate goal of the field of ultrafast phase transitions. This is an especially interesting research direction in magnetism, where the coupling between spin and lattice excitations is required for magnetization reversal. Despite several attempts however, the switching between magnetic states via resonant pumping of phonon modes has not yet been demonstrated. Here we show how an ultrafast resonant excitation of the longitudinal optical phonon modes in magnetic garnet films switches magnetization into a peculiar quadrupolar magnetic domain pattern, unambiguously revealing the magneto-elastic mechanism of the switching. In contrast, the excitation of strongly absorbing transverse phonon modes results in thermal demagnetization effect only.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Nonlinear optical study of commensurability effects in graphene-hBN heterostructures

Second-order nonlinear optical response allows to detect different properties of the system associated with the inversion symmetry breaking. Here, we use a second harmonic generation effect to investigate the alignment of a graphene/hexagonal Boron Nitride heterostructure. To achieve that, we activate a commensurate-incommensurate phase transition by a thermal annealing of the sample. We find that this structural change in the system can be directly observed through a strong modification of a nonlinear optical signal. This result reveals the potential of a second harmonic generation technique for probing structural properties of layered systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Sub-picosecond exchange-relaxation in the compensated ferrimagnet Mn$_2$Ru$_x$Ga

We study the demagnetization dynamics of the fully compensated half-metallic ferrimagnet Mn$_2$Ru$_x$Ga. While the two antiferromagnetically coupled sublattices are both composed of manganese, they exhibit different temperature dependencies due to their differing local environments. The sublattice magnetization dynamics triggered by femtosecond laser pulses are studied to reveal the roles played by the spin and intersublattice exchange. We find a two-step demagnetization process, similar to the well-established case of Gd(FeCo)$_3$, where the two Mn-sublattices have different demagnetization rates. The behaviour is analysed using a four-temperature model, assigning different temperatures to the two manganese spin baths. Even in this strongly exchange-coupled system, the two spin reservoirs have considerably different behaviour. The half-metallic nature and strong exchange coupling of Mn$_2$Ru$_x$Ga lead to spin angular momentum conservation at much shorter time scales than found for Gd(FeCo)$_3$ which suggests that low-power, sub-picosecond switching of the net moment of Mn$_2$Ru$_x$Ga is possible.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Temporal and spectral fingerprints of ultrafast all-coherent spin switching

Future information technology demands ultimately fast, low-loss quantum control. Intense light fields have facilitated important milestones, such as inducing novel states of matter, accelerating electrons ballistically, or coherently flipping the valley pseudospin. These dynamics leave unique signatures, such as characteristic bandgaps or high-order harmonic radiation. The fastest and least dissipative way of switching the technologically most important quantum attribute - the spin - between two states separated by a potential barrier is to trigger an all-coherent precession. Pioneering experiments and theory with picosecond electric and magnetic fields have suggested this possibility, yet observing the actual dynamics has remained out of reach. Here, we show that terahertz (1 THz = 10$^{12}$ Hz) electromagnetic pulses allow coherent navigation of spins over a potential barrier and we reveal the corresponding temporal and spectral fingerprints. This goal is achieved by coupling spins in antiferromagnetic TmFeO$_{3}$ with the locally enhanced THz electric field of custom-tailored antennas. Within their duration of 1 ps, the intense THz pulses abruptly change the magnetic anisotropy and trigger a large-amplitude ballistic spin motion. A characteristic phase flip, an asymmetric splitting of the magnon resonance, and a long-lived offset of the Faraday signal are hallmarks of coherent spin switching into adjacent potential minima, in agreement with a numerical simulation. The switchable spin states can be selected by an external magnetic bias. The low dissipation and the antenna's sub-wavelength spatial definition could facilitate scalable spin devices operating at THz rates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Light-driven ultrafast phonomagnetism

Exciting atomic oscillations with light is a powerful technique to control the electronic properties of materials, leading to remarkable phenomena such as light-induced superconductivity and ultrafast insulator to metal transitions. Here we show that light-driven lattice vibrations can be utilised to encode efficiently spin information in a magnetic medium. Intense mid-infrared electric field pulses, tuned to resonance with a vibrational normal mode of antiferromagnetic DyFeO3, drive the emergence of long-living weak ferromagnetic order. Light-driven phonon displacements promptly lower the energy barrier separating competing magnetic states, allowing the alignment of spins to occur within a few picoseconds, via non-equilibrium dynamics of the magnetic energy landscape.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Magnetization dynamics of the compensated ferrimagnet $Mn_{2}Ru_{x}Ga$

Here we study both static and time-resolved dynamic magnetic properties of the compensated ferrimagnet from room temperature down to 10K, thus crossing the magnetic compensation temperature $T_{M}$. The behaviour is analysed with a model of a simple collinear ferrimagnet with uniaxial anisotropy and site-specific gyromagnetic ratios. We find a maximum zero-applied-field resonance frequency of $\sim$160GHz and a low intrinsic Gilbert damping $α$$\sim$0.02, making it a very attractive candidate for various spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Unusual Field Dependence of Anomalous Hall Effect in Ta/TbFeCo

Experimental studies of anomalous Hall effect are performed for thin filmed Ta/TbFeCo in a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields up to 3 T. While far from the compensation temperature (TM=277 K) the field dependence has a conventional shape of a single hysteresis loop, just below the compensation point the dependence is anomalous having the shape of a triple hysteresis. To understand this behavior, we experimentally reveal the magnetic phase diagram and theoretically analyze it in terms of spin-reorientation phase transitions. We show that one should expect anomalous hysteresis loops below the compensation point if in the vicinity of it the magnetic anisotropy is dominated by FeCo sublattice due to interaction with Ta.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

THz emission from Co/Pt bilayers with varied roughness, crystal structure, and interface intermixing

Femtosecond laser excitation of a Co/Pt bilayer results in the efficient emission of picosecond THz pulses. Two known mechanisms for generating THz emission are spin-polarized currents through a Co/Pt interface, resulting in helicity-independent electric currents in the Pt layer due to the inverse spin-Hall effect and helicity-dependent electric currents at the Co/Pt interface due to the inverse spin-orbit torque effect. Here we explore how roughness, crystal structure and intermixing at the Co/Pt interface affect the efficiency of the THz emission. In particular, we varied the roughness of the interface, in the range of 0.1-0.4 nm, by tuning the deposition pressure conditions during the fabrication of the Co/Pt bilayers. To control the intermixing at the Co/Pt interface a 1-2 nm thick CoxPt1-x alloy spacer layer was introduced with various compositions of Co and Pt. Finally, the crystal structure of Co was varied from face centered cubic to hexagonal close packed. Our study shows that the roughness of the interface is of crucial importance for the efficiency of helicity-dependent THz emission induced by femtosecond laser pulses. However, it is puzzling that intermixing while strongly enhancing the helicity-independent THz emission had no effect on the helicity-dependent THz emission which is suppressed and similar to the smooth interfaces.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Laser-driven quantum magnonics and THz dynamics of the order parameter in antiferromagnets

The impulsive generation of two-magnon modes in antiferromagnets by femtosecond optical pulses, so-called femto-nanomagnons, leads to coherent longitudinal oscillations of the antiferromagnetic order parameter that cannot be described by a thermodynamic Landau-Lifshitz approach. We argue that this dynamics is triggered as a result of a laser-induced modification of the exchange interaction. In order to describe the oscillations we have formulated a quantum mechanical description in terms of magnon pair operators and coherent states. Such an approach allowed us to} derive an effective macroscopic equation of motion for the temporal evolution of the antiferromagnetic order parameter. An implication of the latter is that the photo-induced spin dynamics represents a macroscopic entanglement of pairs of magnons with femtosecond period and nanometer wavelength. By performing magneto-optical pump-probe experiments with 10 femtosecond resolution in the cubic KNiF$_3$ and the uniaxial K$_2$NiF$_4$ collinear Heisenberg antiferromagnets, we observed coherent oscillations at the frequency of 22 THz and 16 THz, respectively. The detected frequencies as a function of the temperature ideally fit the two-magnon excitation up to the Néel point. The experimental signals are described as dynamics of magnetic linear dichroism due to longitudinal oscillations of the antiferromagnetic vector.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Supervised learning of an opto-magnetic neural network with ultrashort laser pulses

The explosive growth of data and its related energy consumption is pushing the need to develop energy-efficient brain-inspired schemes and materials for data processing and storage. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that Co/Pt films can be used as artificial synapses by manipulating their magnetization state using circularly-polarized ultrashort optical pulses at room temperature. We also show an efficient implementation of supervised perceptron learning on an opto-magnetic neural network, built from such magnetic synapses. Importantly, we demonstrate that the optimization of synaptic weights can be achieved using a global feedback mechanism, such that the learning does not rely on external storage or additional optimization schemes. These results suggest there is high potential for realizing artificial neural networks using optically-controlled magnetization in technologically relevant materials, that can learn not only fast but also energy-efficient.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2019

Blueprint for deterministic all-optical switching of magnetization

We resolve a significant controversy about how to understand and engineer single-shot all-optical switching of magnetization in ferrimagnets using femto- or picosecond-long heat pulses. By realistically modelling a generic ferrimagnet as two coupled macrospins, we comprehensively show that the net magnetization can be reversed via different pathways, using a heat pulse with duration spanning all relevant timescales within the non-adiabatic limit. This conceptual understanding is fully validated by experiments studying the material and optical limits at which the switching process in GdFeCo alloys loses its reliability. Our interpretation and results constitute a blueprint for understanding how deterministic all-optical switching can be achieved in alternative ferrimagnets using short thermal pulses.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗