Ultrafast magneto-optics in nickel: magnetism or optics?

Several magnetic and optical processes contribute to the magneto-optical response of nickel thin films after excitation by a femtosecond laser pulse. We achieved a first complete identification by explicitly measuring the time-resolved Kerr ellipticity and rotation, as well as its temperature and ma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2000-07, Vol.85 (4), p.844-847
Main Authors: Koopmans, B, van Kampen M, Kohlhepp, JT, de Jonge WJ
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Several magnetic and optical processes contribute to the magneto-optical response of nickel thin films after excitation by a femtosecond laser pulse. We achieved a first complete identification by explicitly measuring the time-resolved Kerr ellipticity and rotation, as well as its temperature and magnetic field dependence in epitaxially grown (111) and (001) oriented Cu/Ni/Cu wedges. The first hundreds of femtoseconds the response is dominated by state filling effects. The true demagnetization takes approximately 0.5-1 ps. At the longer (sub-ns) time scales the spins are found to precess in their anisotropy field. Simple and transparent models are introduced to substantiate our interpretation.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.85.844