Using a time-resolved optically-pumped scanning optical microscopy technique we demonstrate the laser-driven excitation and propagation of spin waves in a 20-nm film of a ferromagnetic metallic alloy Galfenol epitaxially grown on a GaAs substrate. In contrast to previous all-optical studies of spin waves we employ laser-induced thermal changes of magnetocrystalline anisotropy as an excitation mechanism. A tightly focused 70-fs laser pulse excites packets of magnetostatic surface waves with an e −1 -propagation length of 3.4 µm, which is comparable with that of permalloy. As a result, laser-driven magnetostatic spin waves are clearly detectable at distances in excess of 10 µm, which promotes epitaxial Galfenol films to the limited family of materials suitable for magnonic devices. A pronounced in-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the Galfenol film offers an additional degree of freedom for manipulating the spin waves' parameters. Reorientation of an in-plane external magnetic field relative to the crystallographic axes of the sample tunes the frequency, amplitude and propagation length of the excited waves. arXiv:1904.05171v2 [cond-mat.str-el]
We study experimentally the influence of the laser-induced temperature gradient on the parameters of propagating magnetostatic surface waves in thin film of the ferromagnetic metallic alloy Galfenol Fe0.81Ga0.19. The material has a pronounced magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exhibits the long-distance propagation of magnetostatic surface waves excited with femtosecond laser pulses. The excitation pulse heats up the sample locally, what leads to the spatial-temporal change of magnetization and anisotropy parameters of the film, and thus excites the magnetostatic surface waves. We show experimentally that the spectrum of the excited waves narrows as they propagate in such a gradient medium. By changing the orientation of external magnetic field with respect to anisotropy axes of the sample, we control whether the low- or high-frequency part of the spin waves spectrum is suppressed.
The rate and pathways of relaxation of a magnetic medium to its equilibrium following excitation with intense and short laser pulses are the key ingredients of ultrafast optical control of spins. Here we study experimentally the evolution of the magnetization and magnetic anisotropy of thin films of a ferromagnetic metal galfenol (Fe0.81Ga0.19) resulting from excitation with a femtosecond laser pulse. From the temporal evolution of the hysteresis loops we deduce that the magnetization MS and magnetic anisotropy parameters K recover within a nanosecond, and the ratio between K and MS satisfies the thermal equilibrium's power law in the whole time range spanning from a few picoseconds to 3 nanoseconds. We further use the experimentally obtained relaxation times of MS and K to analyze the laser-induced precession and demonstrate how they contribute to its frequency evolution at the nanosecond timescale.
Nonreciprocity, i.e. inequivalence in amplitudes and frequencies of spin waves propagating in opposite directions, is a key property underlying functionality in prospective magnonic devices. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically...
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