New concept for magnetization switching by ultrafast acoustic pulses

It is shown theoretically that a single acoustic pulse, a few picoseconds long, can reverse magnetization in a magnetostrictive material Terfenol-D. Following giant magnetoelastic changes of free energy density, the magnetization vector is ejected from a local in-plane energy minimum and decays into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2013-06, Vol.110 (26), p.266602-266602, Article 266602
Main Authors: Kovalenko, Oleksandr, Pezeril, Thomas, Temnov, Vasily V
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:It is shown theoretically that a single acoustic pulse, a few picoseconds long, can reverse magnetization in a magnetostrictive material Terfenol-D. Following giant magnetoelastic changes of free energy density, the magnetization vector is ejected from a local in-plane energy minimum and decays into another minimum. For an acoustic pulse duration significantly shorter than magnetization precession period τac≪Tprec, the switching threshold is determined by the acoustic pulse area, i.e., pulse integral in the time domain, similar to coherent phenomena in optics. Simulation results are summarized in a magnetoacoustic switching diagram and discussed in the context of all-optical magnetization switching by circularly polarized light pulses.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.110.266602