Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 8: INNOMAG e.V. Prizes 2024 (Diplom-/Master and Ph.D. Thesis)

MA 8.4: Talk

Monday, March 18, 2024, 16:15–16:40, H 1058

Spintronic terahertz emission: insights and applications — •Oliver Gueckstock — Freie Universität Berlin

To extend current charge-based electronics by new features and functionalities, the electron spin, as a new degree of freedom, is likely to play a major role in future information technology. Devices using spintronics need to be competitive with other information carriers and, therefore, it is required to push the bandwidth of the elementary spintronic operations to the terahertz (THz) frequency range. To study ultrafast spin transport in prototypical magnetic-non-magnetic (F|N) bilayers, we excite them with femtosecond laser pulses. Following absorption of the pulse, a spin current in F is launched and converted into a transverse charge current in N and/or F, giving rise to the emission of a THz electromagnetic pulse. Using this approach, along with an analysis based on symmetry arguments and modeling, this thesis answers the following central open questions: Is ultrafast spin transport mediated by magnons as universal as indicated by previous modelling? What impact does the frequently neglected F/N interface between F and N have on the ultrafast spin-to-charge current conversion? How can we exploit spintronic features for new functionalities of spintronic THz emitters, which are also potentially interesting for space applications? By studying spin current dynamics on their natural timescale, one may find new interesting effects or push existing concepts to THz frequencies, which might advance future spintronic applications to work at higher clock rates.

Keywords: terahertz spectroscopy; spintronics; ultrafast; magnetism; spin transport