Ultrafast demagnetization in bulk vs thin films: an ab-initio study

TL;DR

This study uses ab-initio simulations to compare ultrafast laser-induced demagnetization in bulk and thin film nickel, revealing surface effects significantly enhance demagnetization via increased spin-currents.

Contribution

It demonstrates that surface effects amplify demagnetization in thin films due to broken symmetry and increased spin-currents, a novel insight into ultrafast spin dynamics.

Findings

Surface effects significantly amplify demagnetization in thin films.

Spin-currents are the dominant demagnetization mechanism after 40 fs.

Early demagnetization is driven by spin-flips induced by spin-orbit coupling.

Abstract

We report on {\it ab-initio} simulations of the quantum dynamics of electronic charge and spin when subjected to intense laser pulses. By performing separate calculations for a Ni thin film and bulk Ni, we conclude that surface effects have a dramatic influence on amplifying the laser induced demagnetization. We show that the reason for this amplification is due to increased spin-currents on the surface of the thin film. This enhancement is a direct consequence of the broken symmetry originating from the surface formation. We find that the underlying physics of demagnetization, during the early femtoseconds, for both bulk and thin film is dominated by spin-flips induced by spin-orbit coupling. After the first $\sim 40$ fs this changes in that the dominant cause of demagnetization is the flow of spin-currents, which leads to stronger demagnetization in the film compared to that of the bulk.