Capturing the Magnetic and Structural Phase Transition of Ferh using Extreme Ultraviolet Light

POSTER

Abstract

The temperature dependent transition from the anti-ferromagnetic to the ferromagnetic phase in FeRh is accompanied by a modification of its crystal lattice. The interplay between the magnetic and the structural transition is a matter of strong debate. It is important to better understand the mechanism(s) of the transition since it can be induced by femtosecond laser pulses and, unlike slower (nanosecond) magnetic phase transitions, does not seem to be limited by heat transfer. In this work, we use extreme ultraviolet light generated by a tabletop high harmonics source to perform element-selective investigations of the temperature-dependent magneto-optical response of a thin film FeRh sample. We study the optically induced phase transition using two ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy approaches: by monitoring the time-resolved transversal magneto-optical Kerr effect (T-MOKE) and the transient change in reflectivity.

Authors

  • Dmitriy Zusin

    JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder and NIST

  • Patrick Grychtol

    JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder and NIST, JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

  • Christian Gentry

    JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder and NIST

  • Margaret Murnane

    JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309

  • Henry Kapteyn

    JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309

  • Sophie Canton

    Max-Lab, Lund University, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden

  • Ronny Knut

    Electromagnetics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305

  • Justin Shaw

    Electromagnetics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305

  • Hans Nembach

    National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, Electromagnetics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305

  • Thomas Silva

    National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, Electromagnetics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305

  • Alejandro Ceballos

    Univ of California - Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

  • Catherine Bordel

    UC Berkeley Physics Department, Univ of California - Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

  • Peter Fischer

    CXRO, LBNL and Dept. Phys., UC Santa Cruz, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, Advanced Light Source; Univeristy of California, Santa Cruz, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab

  • Frances Hellman

    UC Berkeley Physics Department, Univ of California - Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, UC Berkeley Physics and Materials Sciences and Engineering Departments, and Materials Sciences Division, LBNL