Nutational switching in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets

Abstract

At very short time scales, inertial effects separate the magnetic moment from the angular momentum, resulting in nutation. Here, it is demonstrated that a resonant excitation of nutation can switch the orientation of the magnetic moments within picoseconds. 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} switching can be realized in both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, surpassing the switching speed achievable by any procedure based on spin precession.

Topics & Concepts