Resonant Pumping of d-d Crystal Field Electronic Transitions as a Mechanism of Ultrafast Optical Control of the Exchange Interactions in Iron Oxides

Journal article (2020)

Authors

R. V. Mikhaylovskiy Lancaster University, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
T.J. Huisman Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
V. A. Gavrichkov Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk
S. I. Polukeev Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk
S. G. Ovchinnikov Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk
D. Afanasiev Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, QN/Caviglia Lab - AS , Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
R. V. Pisarev Ioffe Institute
Theo Rasing Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
A. V. Kimel Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Research Group
QN/Caviglia Lab (AS) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2020 R. V. Mikhaylovskiy, T. J. Huisman, V. A. Gavrichkov, S. I. Polukeev, S. G. Ovchinnikov, D. Afanasiev, R. V. Pisarev, Th Rasing, A. V. Kimel
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.157201
More Info
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Published Date

2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Applied Sciences

Department

QN/Quantum Nanoscience

Research Group

QN/Caviglia Lab

Abstract

The microscopic origin of ultrafast modification of the ratio between the symmetric (J) and antisymmetric (D) exchange interaction in antiferromagnetic iron oxides is revealed, using femtosecond laser excitation as a pump and terahertz emission spectroscopy as a probe. By tuning the photon energy of the laser pump pulse we show that the effect of light on the D/J ratio in two archetypical iron oxides FeBO3 and ErFeO3 is maximized when the photon energy is in resonance with a spin and parity forbidden d-d transition between the crystal-field split states of Fe3+ ions. The experimental findings are supported by a multielectron model, which accounts for the resonant absorption of photons by Fe3+ ions. Our results reveal the importance of the parity and spin-change forbidden, and therefore often underestimated, d-d transitions in ultrafast optical control of magnetism.