9 March 2022

Exchange scaling of ultrafast angular momentum transfer in 4f antiferromagnets

Layered crystal structures
The layered crystal structure, highlighting the layer-by-layer antiferromagnetic reversal along the direction.

With use of time-resolved soft x-ray resonant diffraction the ultrafast demagnetization of an antiferromagnetic lanthanide intermetallics has been determined. These results could directly determine the angular momentum transfer between different spin sublattices in the magnetization dynamics of 4f moments. By a systematic comparison of the ultrafast angular momentum transfer rates with ab initio calculations, the rate of this transfer channel is found proportional to the magnitude of the antiferromagnetic indirect Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) exchange interaction. This enables to tune the demagnetization rate of selected sublattices and the transfer rate between them, which opens the possibility to engineer such devices, either shortening or prolonging the short-lived collective spin states.

Contact

Dr. Yoav William Windsor
Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and Technical University Berlin
Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Telephone: +49 30 8413 5243
E-mail: windsor@fhi-berlin.mpg.de

Dr Urs Staub
Microscopy and Magnetism Group
Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 56 310 44 94
E-mail: urs.staub@psi.ch

Original Publication

Exchange scaling of ultrafast angular momentum transfer in 4f antiferromagnets
Y. W. Windsor, S.-E. Lee, D. Zahn, V. Borisov, D. Thonig, K. Kliemt, A. Ernst, C. Schüssler-Langeheine, N. Pontius, U. Staub, C. Krellner, D. V. Vyalikh, O. Eriksson and L. Rettig
Nature Materials (2022)
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-022-01206-4

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