2019/09/30 by C. Banerjee, N. Teichert, K. Siewierska +8 · 1 citation
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Amorphous solid #Compensation (psychology) #Ferrimagnetism #Gadolinium #Heusler alloys: electronic and magnetic properties #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetization #Pulse (music) #Shape Memory Alloy Transformations #Switching time #Ultrashort pulse #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18340-9
published as Nature Communications 2020 · 18 pages of article, 4 figures, Supplementary Information
openalex created_date 2019/09/19 · arxiv created 2020/04/17 · openalex publication_date 2020/09/07 · arxiv updated 2020/11/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Energy-efficient control of magnetization without the help of a magnetic field is a key goal of spintronics. Purely heat-induced single-pulse all-optical toggle switching has been demonstrated, but so far only in Gd-based amorphous ferrimagnet films. In this work, we demonstrate toggle switching in films of the half-metallic ferrimagnetic Heusler alloys Mn 2 Ru x Ga, which have two crystallographically-inequivalent Mn sublattices. Moreover, we observe the switching at room temperature in samples that are immune to external magnetic fields in excess of 1 T, provided they exhibit a compensation point above room temperature. Observation of the effect in compensated ferrimagnets without Gd challenges our understanding of all-optical switching. The dynamic behavior indicates that Mn 2 Ru x Ga switches in 2 ps or less. Our findings widen the basis for fast optical switching of magnetization and break new ground for engineered materials that can be used for nonvolatile ultrafast switches using ultrashort pulses of light.