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Laser control of the metamagnetic phase transition in FeRh nanostructrures
Velič, Alexander ; Dubroka, Adam (oponent) ; Arregi Uribeetxebarria, Jon Ander (vedoucí práce)
It has been recently shown that information writing speed in magnetic media could be greatly enhanced by utilizing ultrashort laser pulses, which enable coherent magnetization switching at the picosecond timescale. The equiatomic FeRh alloy, which features a first-order phase transition between antiferromagnetic (AF) and ferromagnetic (FM) order, constitute an interesting material for control of magnetic order using laser pulses. However, ultrashort laser pulses only promote the forward AF-to-FM transition, whereas the reverse FM-to-AF transition necessitates cooling and cannot be achieved via laser irradiation, at fast timescales. This work seeks to explore original ways of controlling the magnetic phase transition in FeRh mesostructures by exploiting the metastable character of supercooled FM states found in this system. Arrays of submicron FeRh structures were fabricated using lithography and their phase transition characteristics were investigated using magnetic force microscopy. Supercooled states and their properties were identified, with their response to illumination with ultrafast laser pulses being evaluated. It was seen that low power pulses can bring supercooled FM structures to the ground AF state, whereas high-power pulses induce the forward AF-to-FM transition, eventually achieving light-induced bidirectional control of the phase transition in FeRh.
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