Charge and spin current pumping by ultrafast demagnetization dynamics

Abstract

The surprising discovery of ultrafast demagnetization -- where electric field of femtosecond laser pulse couples to electrons of a ferromagnetic (FM) layer causing its magnetization vector {\em to shrink while not rotating}, is also assumed to be accompanied by generation of spin current in the direction orthogonal to electric field. However, understanding of the microscopic origin of such spin current and how efficiently it can be converted into charge current, as the putative source of THz radiation, is lacking despite nearly three decades of intense studies. Here we connect the standard pumping phenomena driven by microwave precession of magnetization vector replacing periodic time-dependence of magnetization precession with nonperiodic time-dependence of demagnetization, as obtained from experiments on ultrafast-light-driven Ni layer. Applying time-dependent nonequilibrium Green's functions, able to evolve such setup with arbitrary time dependence, reveals how demagnetization dynamics pumps both charge and spin currents in directions both parallel and orthogonal to electric field of laser pulse, even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling and thereby induced spin-to-charge conversion mechanisms. Although pumped currents follow $d{M}_z/dt$ in some setups, this becomes obscured when NM layers are disconnected and pumped currents start to reflect from FM boundaries (as is the case of experimental setups). Finally, we use the Jefimenko equations to compute electromagnetic radiation by charge current pumped in disconnected setup during demagnetization, or later during its slow recovery, unraveling that radiated electric field only in the former time interval exhibits features in 0.1--30 THz frequency range probed experimentally or explored for applications of spintronic THz emitters.

8 pages, 4 figures; Supplemental Material with two additional figure is available from https://wiki.physics.udel.edu/qttg/Publications ; Highlighlight at physics.aps.org is available from https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/s97

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Origins of electromagnetic radiation from spintronic terahertz emitters: A time-dependent density functional theory plus Jefimenko equations approach
• Deciphering the origin of spin current in spintronic terahertz emitters and its imprint on their electromagnetic radiation via time-dependent density functional theory
• Nonclassical dynamics of Néel vector and magnetization accompanied by THz and high-harmonic radiation from ultrafast-light-driven NiO antiferromagnet insulator
• Optimizing spin-based terahertz emission from magnetic heterostructures