Spin polarization in half-metals probed by femtosecond spin excitation
2009 | journal article. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
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Spin polarization in half-metals probed by femtosecond spin excitation
Mueller, G. M.; Walowski, J.; Djordjevic, M.; Miao, G.-X.; Gupta, A.; Ramos, A. V. & Gehrke, K. et al. (2009)
Nature Materials, 8(1) pp. 56-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/NMAT2341
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Details
- Authors
- Mueller, Georg M.; Walowski, Jakob; Djordjevic, Marija; Miao, Gou-Xing; Gupta, Arunava; Ramos, Ana V.; Gehrke, Kai; Moshnyaga, Vasily T.; Samwer, Konrad H.; Schmalhorst, Jan; Thomas, Andy; Huetten, Andreas; Reiss, Guenter; Moodera, Jagadeesh S.; Muenzenberg, Markus G.
- Abstract
- Knowledge of the spin polarization is of fundamental importance for the use of a material in spintronics applications. Here, we used femtosecond optical excitation of half-metals to distinguish between half-metallic and metallic properties. Because the direct energy transfer by Elliot-Yafet scattering is blocked in a half-metal, the demagnetization time is a measure for the degree of half-metallicity. We propose that this characteristic enables us vice versa to establish a novel and fast characterization tool for this highly important material class used in spin-electronic devices. The technique has been applied to a variety of materials where the spin polarization at the Fermi level ranges from 45 to 98%: Ni, Co2MnSi, Fe3O4, La0.66Sr0.33MnO3 and CrO2.
- Issue Date
- 2009
- Status
- published
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Journal
- Nature Materials
- ISSN
- 1476-4660; 1476-1122
- Sponsor
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [SPP 1133, SFB 602]; NSF; ONR; NSF MRSEC