Photoinduced femtosecond spin-flip assisted by a single-mode linear phonon

TL;DR

Researchers demonstrated ultrafast spin-flip in Fe3GeTe2 using light, revealing how phonons and electrons enable fast magnetic control.

Contribution

The study identifies three regimes of spin-flip dynamics and the role of A1g phonons in enabling femtosecond-scale spin manipulation.

Findings

A 300 fs spin-flip in Fe3GeTe2 is achieved via photoinduced A1g phonons.

Three distinct regimes—demagnetization, spin-flip, and spin-melting—are identified with varying laser fluence.

Nonequilibrium electrons lower the spin-flip energy barrier and enable a Berry curvature sign change.

Abstract

Optical manipulation of spin-flip on a picosecond to femtosecond timescale has long been pursued to innovate next-generation electronic devices. However, understanding the ultrafast spin-electron-lattice coupled dynamics remains challenging, especially when the system is driven far from equilibrium. Here, we demonstrate an ultrafast light-induced spin-flip within 300 fs in Fe3GeTe2, a prototypical two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnet. Notably, by varying the laser fluence, we identify three distinct regimes that emerge assisted by a photoinduced single linear phonon mode, namely demagnetization, spin-flip, and spin-melting. We resolve the dominant role of displacively excited A1g phonons, while nonequilibrium electron occupation is essential to break the degeneracy of the spin up and down states and lower the spin-flip energy barrier. Accompanying the spin-flip, we also observe a sign change of the Berry curvature, implying involvement of nontrivial band topology. Our results provide a general guidance for optical manipulation of spin orders, holding promises for advancing future spintronics and information technology.

Light-driven 300-fs spin-flip in Fe3GeTe2, via A1g phonons and nonequilibrium electrons, enables ultrafast spintronic control.

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