Voigt effect-based wide-field magneto-optical microscope integrated in a pump-probe experimental setup

In this work we describe an experimental setup for spatially-resolved pump-probe experiment with integrated wide-field magneto-optical (MO) microscope. The MO microscope can be used to study ferromagnetic materials with both perpendicular-to-plane and in-plane magnetic anisotropy via polar Kerr and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2018-02
Main Authors: Janda, T, Nadvornik, L, Kucharik, J, Butkovicova, D, Schmoranzerova, E, Trojanek, F, Nemec, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Antiferromagnetism
Ferromagnetic materials
Magnetic anisotropy
Magnetic moments
Piezoelectric actuators
Piezoelectricity
Voigt effect
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Summary:In this work we describe an experimental setup for spatially-resolved pump-probe experiment with integrated wide-field magneto-optical (MO) microscope. The MO microscope can be used to study ferromagnetic materials with both perpendicular-to-plane and in-plane magnetic anisotropy via polar Kerr and Voigt effects, respectively. The functionality of the Voigt effect-based microscope was tested using an in-plane magnetized ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. It was revealed that the presence of mechanical defects in the (Ga,Mn)As epilayer alters significantly the magnetic anisotropy in their proximity. The importance of MO experiments with simultaneous temporal and spatial resolutions was demonstrated using (Ga,Mn)As sample attached to a piezoelectric actuator, which produces a voltage-controlled strain. We observed a considerably different behavior in different parts of the sample that enabled us to identify sample parts where the epilayer magnetic anisotropy was significantly modified by a presence of the piezostressor and where it was not. Finally, we discuss the possible applicability of our experimental setup for the research of compensated antiferromagnets, where only MO effects even in magnetic moments are present.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1802.10534