Optical-helicity-driven optomagnetic field and photo-spin current in metallic systems

Invited

Abstract

Interaction among photons, electrons, and spins in condensed matters has opened a research area of opto-spintronics. Circularly polarized photons induce spin density on conduction bands of semiconductors by optical orientation [1, 2], and generate an opto-magnetic field on magnetic moments of insulators by inverse Faraday effect [3, 4]. The observation of optical-helicity-dependent switching of magnetization of metallic ferromagnets has suggested relevant physics in metallic systems [5]. Recently, the opto-magnetic field has been observed in metallic ferromagnets, and its magnitude and direction were explained by interaction energy between angular momentum of photons and magnetization of ferromagnets [6]. For non-magnetic metals, a photo-spin current can occur at interfaces of heavy metals and normal metals due to spin-orbit coupling of heavy metals and inversion symmetry breaking at interfaces [7]. These novel physics enable opto-spintronics in metallic systems with an ultrafast timescale.

References:
1. G. Lampel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 20, 491 (1968).
2. F. Meier and B. P. Zakharchnya, Optical Orientation (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1984).
3. J. P. van der Ziel, P. S. Pershan, and L. D. Malmstrom, Phys. Rev. Lett. 15, 190 (1965).
4. A. V. Kimel, A. Kirilyuk, P. A. Usachev, R. V. Pisarev, A. M. Balbashov, and Th. Rasing, Nature 435, 655 (2005).
5. C-H. Lambert, S. Mangin, B. S. D. Ch. S. Varaprasad, Y. K. Takahashi, Y. K., Hehn, M. Cinchetti, G. Malinowski, K. Hono, Y. Fainman, M. Aeschlimann, E. E. Fullerton, Science 345, 1337 (2014).
6. G.-M. Choi, A. Schleife, and D. G. Cahill, Nature Commun. 8, 15085 (2017).
7. G.-M. Choi, D.-G. Lee, S.-W. Lee, K. W. Kim, M. Lim, B.-C. Min, K.-J. Lee, and H.-W. Lee, submitted

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Presenters

  • Gyung-Min Choi

    Sungkyunkwan Univ

Authors

  • Gyung-Min Choi

    Sungkyunkwan Univ

  • Andre Schleife

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Materials Science and Engineering, Univ of Illinois - Urbana, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois - Urbana, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

  • David Cahill

    Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Materials Research Laboratory, Univ of Illinois - Urbana, Univ of Illinois - Urbana, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois

  • Dong-Kyu Lee

    Korea University

  • Seo-Won Lee

    Korea University

  • Kun Woo Kim

    Korea Institute for Advanced Study

  • Mijin Lim

    Pohang University of Science and Technology

  • Byoung-Chul Min

    Korea Institute of Science and Technology

  • Kyung-Jin Lee

    Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Korea University, Korea University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University

  • Hyun-Woo Lee

    Physics, Pohang Univ of Sci & Tech, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Department of Physics, Pohang Univ of Sci & Tech