All-optical reversible switching of local magnetization

The authors demonstrate all-optical reversible switching of the magnetization direction in a uniformly magnetized ferrite-garnet film. The magnetization is switched by locally heating the film with a pulsed laser beam. The direction to which the magnetization flips is controlled by two parameters, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2007-07, Vol.91 (4), p.041916-041916-3
Main Authors: Shevchenko, A., Korppi, M., Lindfors, K., Heiliö, M., Kaivola, M., Il'yashenko, E., Johansen, T. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The authors demonstrate all-optical reversible switching of the magnetization direction in a uniformly magnetized ferrite-garnet film. The magnetization is switched by locally heating the film with a pulsed laser beam. The direction to which the magnetization flips is controlled by two parameters, the beam diameter and the pulse energy, and not by the direction of the external magnetic field. In the experiments, neither the magnitude nor the direction of the external magnetic field is changed. The results of this work illustrate the richness of optical methods to locally control the properties of magnetic materials and suggest all-optical device applications.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.2760163