Ultrafast Photoinduced Multimode Antiferromagnetic Spin Dynamics in Exchange-Coupled Fe/RFeO3 (R = Er or Dy) Heterostructures

Abstract

Antiferromagnetic spin dynamics is important for both fundamental and applied antiferromagnetic spintronic devices; however, it is rarely explored by external fields because of the strong exchange interaction in antiferromagnetic materials. Here, the photoinduced excitation of ultrafast antiferromagnetic spin dynamics is achieved by capping antiferromagnetic RFeO₃ (R = Er or Dy) with an exchange-coupled ferromagnetic Fe film. Compared with antiferromagnetic spin dynamics of bare RFeO₃ orthoferrite single crystals, which can be triggered effectively by ultrafast laser heating just below the phase transition temperature, the ultrafast photoinduced multimode antiferromagnetic spin dynamic modes, for exchange-coupled Fe/RFeO₃ heterostructures, including quasiferromagnetic resonance, impurity, coherent phonon, and quasiantiferromagnetic modes, are observed in a temperature range of 10-300 K. These experimental results not only offer an effective means to trigger ultrafast antiferromagnetic spin dynamics of rare-earth orthoferrites, but also shed light on the ultrafast manipulation of antiferromagnetic magnetization in Fe/RFeO₃ heterostructures.

Keywords: all-optical pump probes; antiferromagnetic-based spintronics; exchange-coupled heterostructures; multimode antiferromagnetic spin dynamics.