[Article] Gd Doping at the Co/Pt Interfaces to Induce Ultrafast All-Optical Switching
Abstract
Single-pulse all-optical switching has mainly been observed and studied in transition-metal-Gd-based thin films with high potential for enabling new application for energy-efficient and fast magnetic data storage, memory, or logic. For GdCo alloys, ultrafast single-pulse switching has only been observed close to the compensation composition, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Here, we demonstrate that starting with a [Co/Pt] bilayer showing strong perpendicular anisotropy, a small Gd dusting at the interface is sufficient to induce a well-defined single-pulse all-optical switching. A careful analysis of the impact of the Gd–Co interface on all optical switching is presented. The opportunity to perform single-pulse all-optical switching with a very little amount of Gd opens perspectives for its applicability but also questions the theoretical understanding of the toggle switching underlying mechanism.
References
CS Appl. Electron. Mater. 2024, 6, 2, 1122–1128
Authors
Danny Petty Gweha Nyoma, Michel Hehn, Grégory Malinowski, Jaafar Ghanbaja, Julius Hohlfeld, Jon Gorchon, Stéphane Mangin, and Francois Montaigne
DOI