Abstract
For the development of future magnetic data storage technologies, the ultrafast generation of local magnetic fields is essential. Subnanosecond excitation of the magnetic state has so far been achieved by launching current pulses into micro-coils and micro-striplines1,2,3,4,5,6 and by using high-energy electron beams7. Local injection of a spin-polarized current through an all-metal junction has been proposed as an efficient method of switching magnetic elements8,9, and experiments seem to confirm this10,11,12,13. Spin injection has also been observed in hybrid ferromagnetic–semiconductor structures14,15. Here we introduce a different scheme for the ultrafast generation of local magnetic fields in such a hybrid structure. The basis of our approach is to optically pump a Schottky diode with a focused, ∼150-fs laser pulse. The laser pulse generates a current across the semiconductor–metal junction, which in turn gives rise to an in-plane magnetic field. This scheme combines the localization of current injection techniques11,12,13,16 with the speed of current generation at a Schottky barrier. Specific advantages include the ability to rapidly create local fields along any in-plane direction anywhere on the sample, the ability to scan the field over many magnetic elements and the ability to tune the magnitude of the field with the diode bias voltage.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hiebert, W. K., Stankiewicz, A. & Freeman, M. R. Direct observation of magnetic relaxation in a small permalloy disk by time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy. Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 1134–1137 (1997).
Crawford, T. M., Silva, T. J., Teplin, C. W. & Rogers, C. T. Subnanosecond magnetization dynamics measured by the second-harmonic magneto-optic Kerr effect. Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 3386–3388 (1999).
Hicken, R. J. & Wu, J. Observation of ferromagnetic resonance in the time domain. J. Appl. Phys. 85, 4580–4582 (1999).
Acremann, Y. et al. Imaging precessional motion of the magnetization vector. Science 290, 492–495 (2000).
Bauer, M., Lopusnik, R., Fassbender, J. & Hillebrands, B. Suppression of magnetic-field pulse-induced magnetization precession by pulse tailoring. Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 2758–2760 (2000).
Choi, B. C., Belov, M., Hiebert, W. K., Ballentine, G. E. & Freeman, M. R. Ultrafast magnetization reversal dynamics investigated by time domain imaging. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 728–731 (2001).
Back, C. H. et al. Minimum field strength in precessional magnetization reversal. Science 285, 864–867 (1999).
Slonczewski, J. C. Current-driven excitation of magnetic multilayers. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 159, L1–L7 (1996).
Berger, L. Emission of spin waves by a magnetic multilayer traversed by a current. Phys. Rev. B 54, 9353–9358 (1996).
Weber, W., Riesen, S. & Siegmann, H. C. Magnetization precession by hot spin injection. Science 291, 1015–1018 (2001).
Tsoi, M. et al. Excitation of a magnetic multilayer by an electric current. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 4281–4284 (1998).
Myers, E. B. et al. Current-induced switching of domains in magnetic multilayer devices. Science 285, 867–870 (1999).
Wegrowe, J.-E. et al. Current-induced magnetization reversal in magnetic nanowires. Europhys. Lett. 45, 626–870 (1999).
Fiederling, R. et al. Injection and detection of a spin-polarized current in a light-emitting diode. Nature 402, 787–789 (1999).
Ohno, Y. et al. Electrical spin injection in a ferromagnetic semiconductor heterostructure. Nature 402, 790–792 (1999).
Zhu, J.-G., Zheng, Y. & Prinz, G. A. Ultrahigh density vertical magnetoresistive random access memory. J. Appl. Phys. 87, 6668–6673 (2000).
Prinz, G. A., Rado, G. T. & Krebs, J. J. Magnetic properties of single-crystal (110) iron films grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy. J. Appl. Phys. 53, 2087–2091 (1982).
Dumm, M. et al. Magnetism of ultrathin FeCo (001) films on GaAs(001). J. Appl. Phys. 87, 5457–5459 (2000).
Kittel, C. On the theory of ferromagnetic resonance absorption. Phys. Rev. 73, 155–161 (1948).
Koopmans, B., Van Kampen, M., Kohlhepp, J. T. & de Jonge, W. J. M. Ultrafast magneto-optics in nickel: magnetism or optics? Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 844–847 (2000).
Ganping, Yu et al. Ultrafast time resolved photoinduced magnetization rotation in a ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic exchange coupled system. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3705–3708 (1999).
Christianen, P. C. M. et al. Ultrafast carrier dynamics at a metal-semiconductor interface. J. Appl. Phys. 80, 6831–6838 (1996).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by ETH Zurich, the Swiss National Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Acremann, Y., Buess, M., Back, C. et al. Ultrafast generation of magnetic fields in a Schottky diode. Nature 414, 51–54 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35102026
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35102026
This article is cited by
-
Ultrashort spin–orbit torque generated by femtosecond laser pulses
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Ultrafast precessional magnetization reversal by picosecond magnetic field pulse shaping
Nature (2002)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
