Magnetization switching of the 9.4 nm thin GdCo layer. (IMAGE)

Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (MBI)

Magnetization switching of the 9.4 nm thin GdCo layer.

Caption

Fig.2: Magnetization switching of the 9.4 nm thin GdCo layer. The graph depicts the cross-section of a Pt/Cu/GdCo/Ta heterostructure and shows how the magnetization (false color scale) evolves over time (x-axis) and along the depth (y-axis). The ultrafast dynamics are set off by an intense laser pulse hitting the heterostructure from at the top of the Pt layer at 0 ps delay. This leads to the initial magnetization (red color) being reduced until it reaches zero at the top of the GdCo film, where a region of reversed magnetization (blue color) starts to evolve. Subsequently, the GdCo layer gets divided along its depth into two magnetic domains with opposite magnetization direction. Within a few picoseconds, the reversed region grows over the entire GdCo layer, shifting the boundary between the two domains (white color) into the depth of the film.

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Credits: MBI

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