Picosecond Creation of Switchable Optomagnets from a Polar Antiferromagnet with Giant Photoinduced Kerr Rotations
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PhysRevX.9.031038.pdf
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Author(s)
Sheu, Y. M.
Chang, Y. M.
Chang, C. P.
Li, Y. H.
Babu, K. R.
Guo, G. Y.
Kurumaji, T.
Tokura, Y.
Date Issued
August 30, 2019
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Phys. Rev. X 9, 031038 (2019)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
On-demand spin orientation with a long polarized lifetime and an easily detectable signal is the ultimate goal for spintronics. However, there still exists a trade-off between controllability and stability of spin polarization, awaiting a significant breakthrough. Here, we demonstrate switchable optomagnet effects in (Fe_{1-x}Zn_{x})_{2}Mo_{3}O_{8}, from which we can obtain tunable magnetization (spanning from -40% to 40% of a saturated magnetization) that is created from zero magnetization in the antiferromagnetic state without magnetic fields. It is accomplishable by utilizing circularly polarized laser pulses to excite spin-flip transitions in polar antiferromagnets that have no spin canting, traditionally hard to control without very strong magnetic fields. The spin controllability in (Fe_{1-x}Zn_{x})_{2}Mo_{3}O_{8} originates from its polar structure that breaks the crystal inversion symmetry, allowing distinct on-site d-d transitions for selective spin flip. By chemical doping, we exploit the phase competition between antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic states to enhance and stabilize the optomagnet effects, which result in long-lived photoinduced Kerr rotations. The present study creating switchable giant optomagnet effects in polar antiferromagnets sketches a new blueprint for the function of antiferromagnetic spintronics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.9.031038
