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Ultrafast magnetic switching of GdFeCo with electronic heat currents

R. B. Wilson, Jon Gorchon, Yang Yang, Charles-Henri Lambert, Sayeef Salahuddin, and Jeffrey Bokor
Phys. Rev. B 95, 180409(R) – Published 30 May 2017

Abstract

We report the magnetic response of Pt/Au/GdFeCo trilayers to optical irradiation of the Pt surface. For trilayers with Au thickness greater than 50 nm, the great majority of energy is absorbed by the Pt layer, creating an initial temperature differential of thousands of kelvin between the Pt/Au layers and the GdFeCo layer. The resulting electronic heat current across the metal multilayer lasts for several picoseconds with energy flux in excess of 2TWm2 and provides sufficient heating to the GdFeCo electrons to induce deterministic reversal of the magnetic moment.

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  • Received 16 September 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.180409

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

R. B. Wilson1,*, Jon Gorchon2,3, Yang Yang4, Charles-Henri Lambert2, Sayeef Salahuddin2,3, and Jeffrey Bokor2,3,†

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering Program, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
  • 2Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 3Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

  • *Corresponding author: rwilson@engr.ucr.edu
  • jbokor@berkeley.edu

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Issue

Vol. 95, Iss. 18 — 1 May 2017

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