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Time-Resolved X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism — A Selective Probe of Magnetization Dynamics on Nanosecond Timescales

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Spin Dynamics in Confined Magnetic Structures II

Part of the book series: Topics in Applied Physics ((TAP,volume 87))

Abstract

Many synchrotron radiation techniques have been developed in the last 15 years for studying the magnetic properties of thin-film materials. The most attractive properties of synchrotron radiation are its energy tunability and its time structure. The first property allows measurements in resonant conditions at an absorption edge of each of the magnetic elements constituting the probed sample, and the latter allows time-resolved measurements on subnanosecond timescales. In this review, we introduce some of the synchrotron-based techniques used for magnetic investigations. We then describe in detail X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and how time-resolved XMCD studies can be carried out in the pump-probe mode. Finally, we illustrate some applications to magnetization reversal dynamics in spin valves and tunnel junctions, using fast magnetic field pulses applied along the easy magnetization axis of the samples. Thanks to the element-selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the magnetization dynamics of the soft (Permalloy) and the hard (cobalt) layers can be studied independently. In the case of spin valves, this allowed us to show that two magnetic layers that are strongly coupled in a static regime can become uncoupled on nanosecond timescales.

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  1. Marlio Bonfim

    Present address: Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19011, Curitiba - PR CEP, 81531-990, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Louis Néel (CNRS), 25 Avenue des Martyrs, BP 166, 38042, Grenoble Cedex 09, France

    Stefania Pizzini, Jan Vogel, Marlio Bonfim & Alain Fontaine

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  1. Stefania Pizzini
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  2. Jan Vogel
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  1. Fachbereich Physik, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 56, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Burkard Hillebrands

  2. Commisariat del’Energie Atomique DRFMC, DSM, Service de Physique des Materiaux, 17 Avenue des Martyrs, 38054, Grenoble, France

    Kamel Ounadjela

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Pizzini, S., Vogel, J., Bonfim, M., Fontaine, A. (2003). Time-Resolved X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism — A Selective Probe of Magnetization Dynamics on Nanosecond Timescales. In: Hillebrands, B., Ounadjela, K. (eds) Spin Dynamics in Confined Magnetic Structures II. Topics in Applied Physics, vol 87. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46097-7_5

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