Influence of magnetic domain walls on all-optical magnetic toggle switching in a ferrimagnetic GdFe film

TL;DR

This study investigates how magnetic domain walls influence the reliability of all-optical toggle switching in a ferrimagnetic GdFe film, revealing effects of domain wall elasticity and laser-induced motion on switching behavior.

Contribution

It provides detailed microscopic imaging of toggle switching near domain walls, identifying intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting deterministic switching in ferrimagnetic films.

Findings

Domain wall elasticity reduces domain-wall length at sharp features.

Laser-induced domain-wall motion causes local deviations from toggle switching.

Toggle switching is influenced by both laser system stability and magnetic domain structure.

Abstract

We present a microscopic magnetic domain imaging study of single-shot all-optical magnetic toggle switching of a ferrimagnetic Gd$_{26}$Fe$_{74}$ film with out-of-plane easy axis of magnetization by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoelectron emission microscopy. Individual linearly polarized laser pulses of 800 nm wavelength and 100 fs duration above a certain threshold fluence reverse the sample magnetization, independent of the magnetization direction, the so-called toggle switching. Local deviations from this deterministic behavior close to magnetic domain walls are studied in detail. Reasons for nondeterministic toggle switching are related to extrinsic effects, caused by pulse-to-pulse variations of the exciting laser system, and to intrinsic effects related to the magnetic domain structure of the sample. The latter are, on the one hand, caused by magnetic domain wall elasticity, which leads to a reduction of the domain-wall length at sharp tipped features. These features appear after the optical switching at positions where the line of constant threshold fluence in the Gaussian footprint of the laser pulse comes close to an already-existing domain wall. On the other hand, we identify the presence of laser-induced domain-wall motion in the toggle-switching event as a further cause for local deviations from purely deterministic toggle switching.