All-optical investigation of tunable picosecond magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic nanostripes with a width down to 50 nm

Abstract

Ferromagnetic nanostripes are important elements for a number of interesting technologies including magnetic racetrack memory, spin logic and magnonics. Understanding and controlling magnetization dynamics in such nanostripes are hence important problems in nanoscience and technology. Here we present an all-optical excitation and detection of ultrafast magnetization dynamics, including spin waves, in 5 μm long Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ nanostripes with varying stripe widths from 200 nm down to 50 nm. We observed a strong width dependent variation in the frequency, anisotropy and the spatial nature of spin waves in these systems. The effect of inter-stripe interaction is also studied and the 50 nm wide stripe is found to be nearly magnetostatically isolated, allowing us to detect the dynamics of a 50 nm wide individual stripe using an all-optical measurement technique. The tunability in magnetization dynamics with stripe widths is important for their applications in various spin based technologies.