We report measurements of acoustic phonon emission from a weakly coupled AlAs/GaAs superlattice (SL) under vertical electron transport. The phonons were detected using superconducting bolometers. A peak (resonance) was observed in emission parallel to the SL growth axis when the electrical energy drop per SL period matched the energy of the first SL mini-Brillouin zone-center phonon mode. This peak was mirrored by an increase of the differential conductance of the SL. These results are evidence for stimulated emission of terahertz phonons as previously predicted theoretically and suggest that such a SL may form the basis of a SASER (sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) device.
Coherent high-amplitude precession of the magnetization and spin waves with frequencies up to 40 GHz are generated by injecting picosecond compressive and shear acoustic pulses into nanometer-sized galfenol (Fe81Ga19) films. The magnetization modulation is due to the picosecond inverse magnetostrictive effect. The oscillations of the magnetization measured by magneto-optical Kerr rotation last for several nanoseconds, and the maximum modulation of the in-plane effective magnetic field is as high as 40 mT. These results in combination with a comprehensive theoretical analysis show that galfenol films possess excellent properties for ultrafast magnetization control based on the picosecond inverse magnetostrictive effect.
. (2016) Ultrafast changes of magnetic anisotropy driven by laser-generated coherent and noncoherent phonons in metallic films. Physical Review B, 93 (21
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ABSTRACTUltrafast optical excitation of a metal ferromagnetic film results in a modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and induces the magnetization precession. We consider two main contributions to these processes: an effect of non-coherent phonons, which modifies the temperature dependent parameters of the magneto-crystalline anisotropy; and coherent phonons in the form of a strain contributing via inverse magnetostriction. Contrary to the earlier experiments with high symmetry ferromagnetic structures, where these mechanisms could not be separated, we study the magnetization response to femtosecond optical pulses in the low-symmetry magnetostrictive Galfenol film so that it is possible to separate the coherent and non-coherent phonon contributions. By choosing certain experimental geometry and external magnetic field, we can distinguish the contribution from a specific mechanism. Theoretical analysis and numerical calculations are used to support the experimental observations and proposed model.
A theoretical model of the coherent precession of magnetization excited by a picosecond acoustic pulse in a ferromagnetic semiconductor layer of (Ga,Mn)As is developed. The short strain pulse injected into the ferromagnetic layer modifies the magnetocrystalline anisotropy resulting in a tilt of the equilibrium orientation of magnetization and subsequent magnetization precession. We derive a quantitative model of this effect using the Landau-Lifshitz equation for the magnetization that is precessing in the time-dependent effective magnetic field. After developing the general formalism, we then provide a numerical analysis for a certain structure and two typical experimental geometries in which an external magnetic field is applied either along the hard or the easy magnetization axis. As a result we identify three main factors, which determine the precession amplitude: the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ferromagnetic layer, its thickness, and the strain pulse parameters.
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