Ultrafast coherent all-optical switching of an antiferromagnet with the inverse Faraday effect
Tobias Dannegger, Marco Berritta, Karel Carva, Severin Selzer, Ulrike Ritzmann, Peter M. Oppeneer, U. Nowak
Abstract
We explore the possibility of ultrafast, coherent all-optical magnetization switching in antiferromagnets by studying the action of the inverse Faraday effect in CrPt, an easy-plane antiferromagnet. Using a combination of density-functional theory and atomistic spin dynamics simulations, we show how a circularly polarized laser pulse can switch the order parameter of the antiferromagnet within a few hundred femtoseconds. This nonthermal switching takes place on an elliptical path, driven by the staggered magnetic moments induced by the inverse Faraday effect and leading to reliable switching between two perpendicular magnetic states.
Topics & Concepts
Faraday effectAntiferromagnetismUltrashort pulsePhysicsFemtosecondCondensed matter physicsInverseFaraday cageMagnetizationFaraday rotatorLaserOpticsMagnetic fieldQuantum mechanicsMathematicsGeometryMagneto-Optical Properties and ApplicationsMagnetic properties of thin filmsNeural Networks and Reservoir Computing