- Petr Němec: Optical studies towards antiferromagnetic spintronics
- 2. 11. 2016, 14:30
- lecture room F2, first floor Ke Karlovu 5
- more information
Abstract:
Recent breakthroughs in electrical detection and manipulation of antiferromagnets have opened a new avenue in the research of non-volatile spintronic devices [1]. Antiparallel spin sublattices in antiferromagnets, producing zero dipolar fields, lead to the insensitivity to magnetic field perturbations, multi-level stability, ultra-fast spin dynamics and other favorable characteristics which may find utility in fields ranging from of radiation-hard magnetic memories to optical signal processing. However, these features also make the characterization of antiferromagnetic materials, in particular of thin metallic films suitable for spintronics, a major challenge. In this contribution we show that table-top optical and magneto-optical techniques, which are considerably more accessible than the traditionally employed large scale facility techniques like neutron diffraction and X-ray magnetic dichroism measurements, can provide valuable information about antiferromagnetic thin films. This is demonstrated by our recent experiments in FeRh [2] and CuMnAs [3] epitaxial layers.
[1] T. Jungwirth, X. Marti, P. Wadley, and J. Wunderlich, Antiferromagnetic spintronics. Nature Nanotechnology 11, 231-241 (2016).
[2] V. Saidl, M. Brajer, L. Horák, H. Reichlová, K. Výborný, M. Veis, T. Janda, F. Trojánek, M. Maryško, I. Fina, X. Marti, T. Jungwirth, and P. Němec, Investigation of magneto-structural phase transition in FeRh by reflectivity and transmittance measurements in visible and near- infrared spectral region. New J. Phys. 18, 083017 (2016).
[3] V. Saidl, P. Němec, P. Wadley, V. Hills, R.P. Campion, V. Novák, K.W. Edmonds, F. Maccherozzi, S. S. Dhesi, B.L. Gallagher, F. Trojánek, J. Kuneš, J. Železný, P. Malý, and T. Jungwirth: Optical determination of the Néel vector in a CuMnAs thin-film antiferromagnet. http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.01941, submitted to Nature Photonics.