Experimental observation of transition from type I to type II ultrafast demagnetization dynamics in chemically disordered Fe60Al40 thin film, driven by laser fluence

Understanding of the laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization dynamics is one of the most challenging and hot topics in magnetism research due to its potential applications in magnetic storage devices and the field of spintronics. Recently, a laser-induced switching of ferromagnetism, driven by a disorder-order transition on FeAl thin films, has been experimentally demonstrated. The switching of ferromagnetic ordering by ultrafast laser pulses in FeAl thin films may open new possible applications of this material such as magnetic data storage and manipulation. Since the speed of the magnetic switching of magnetic states in thin films is one of the critical parameters for these applications, here we used time resolved magneto-optical Kerr measurements to investigate the demagnetization dynamics of Fe60Al40 thin films at room temperature. We have for the first time observed a clear transition from one-step dynamics (type I) to two-step (type II) dynamics in the same material by increasing pump laser fluence. This experimental observation may give a strong confirmation that the ultrafast demagnetization process can be treated as a thermal process and is driven by the difference between temperatures of the electron and spin systems. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.