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Femtosecond switching of magnetism via strongly correlated spin–charge quantum excitations

Nature volume 496, pages 69–73 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The technological demand to push the gigahertz (109 hertz) switching speed limit of today’s magnetic memory and logic devices into the terahertz (1012 hertz) regime underlies the entire field of spin-electronics and integrated multi-functional devices. This challenge is met by all-optical magnetic switching based on coherent spin manipulation1. By analogy to femtosecond chemistry and photosynthetic dynamics2—in which photoproducts of chemical and biochemical reactions can be influenced by creating suitable superpositions of molecular states—femtosecond-laser-excited coherence between electronic states can switch magnetic order by ‘suddenly’ breaking the delicate balance between competing phases of correlated materials: for example, manganites exhibiting colossal magneto-resistance suitable for applications3,4. Here we show femtosecond (10−15 seconds) photo-induced switching from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic ordering in Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3, by observing the establishment (within about 120 femtoseconds) of a huge temperature-dependent magnetization with photo-excitation threshold behaviour absent in the optical reflectivity. The development of ferromagnetic correlations during the femtosecond laser pulse reveals an initial quantum coherent regime of magnetism, distinguished from the picosecond (10−12 seconds) lattice-heating regime characterized by phase separation without threshold behaviour5,6. Our simulations reproduce the nonlinear femtosecond spin generation and underpin fast quantum spin-flip fluctuations correlated with coherent superpositions of electronic states to initiate local ferromagnetic correlations. These results merge two fields, femtosecond magnetism in metals and band insulators1,7,8,9, and non-equilibrium phase transitions of strongly correlated electrons10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17, in which local interactions exceeding the kinetic energy produce a complex balance of competing orders.

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Figure 1: A quantum many-body scheme for femtosecond switching of magnetism and ultrafast photo-induced spin dynamics in Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3.
Figure 2: A three-dimensional view demonstrating the distinct femtosecond spin and charge dynamics as well as photo-excitation threshold behaviour.
Figure 3: Evidence for genuine femtosecond switching of magnetic ordering and its sensitive temperature dependence.
Figure 4: Interchain femtosecond quantum spin-flip fluctuations establish ferromagnetic correlations during the coherent laser photo-excitation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (contract no. DMR-1055352). Material synthesis at the Ames Laboratory was supported by the US Department of Energy-Basic Energy Sciences (contract no. DE-AC02-7CH11358). L.M. acknowledges FP7-REGPOT-2008-1, Project BIOSOLENUTI no. 229927 for financial support. L.M. and I.E.P. were partially supported by the EU Social Fund and National resources through the THALES program NANOPHOS.

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Author notes

  1. Jiaqiang Yan

    Present address: Present addresses: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA; Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, Iowa, USA

    Tianqi Li, Aaron Patz & Jigang Wang

  2. Ames Laboratory – USDOE, Ames, 50011, Iowa, USA

    Tianqi Li, Aaron Patz, Jiaqiang Yan, Thomas A. Lograsso & Jigang Wang

  3. Department of Physics, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete 71003, Greece,

    Leonidas Mouchliadis & Ilias E. Perakis

  4. Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Crete 71110, Greece,

    Leonidas Mouchliadis & Ilias E. Perakis

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  1. Tianqi Li
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Contributions

T.L., A.P. and J.W. performed the experimental measurements, collected the data and analysed the results. L.M. and I.E.P. developed the theory and performed the time-dependent and band-structure calculations. J.Y. and T.A.L. grew the samples and characterized the single crystals. J.W. and I.E.P. designed the experiment and wrote the paper, with help from all authors.

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Correspondence to Ilias E. Perakis or Jigang Wang.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Li, T., Patz, A., Mouchliadis, L. et al. Femtosecond switching of magnetism via strongly correlated spin–charge quantum excitations. Nature 496, 69–73 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11934

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