CAREER: Spin Plasmonics for Ultrafast All-Optical Manipulation of Magnetization in Hybrid Metal-Ferromagnet Structures

非技术描述：高效的计算、信息处理和数字通信依赖于利用磁性材料的技术。最近的研究表明，光激光脉冲可以用来操纵磁性材料的性质，有望以突破性的速度访问存储的数据，比目前的计算设备快得多。然而，这一过程的基本机制以及单个存储单元的大小限制尚未完全了解。该项目旨在利用由金属纳米结构和磁性纳米结构组成的混合材料，以前所未有的速度和密度实现对磁存储器的光学控制。通过一系列实验和计算研究，研究了这些材料中相互交织的光学、热学和磁学效应。这项拟议的工作将以多种方式影响社会。磁性材料的超快、纳米级光学控制使数据存储、存储和计算设备能够用于网络搜索引擎和在线商务等应用。综合教育计划包含了大量的外展，涉及从7-12年级到研究生水平的学生。参与的学生将接触到几个快速发展的领域，包括材料科学、光学和纳米技术，同时还可以与工业合作伙伴互动。技术描述：全光磁化开关已成为现代磁学中一个令人兴奋的话题。除了充分了解其丰富的物理特性的要求外，全光交换还必须与当前存储设备中可获得的面密度竞争，才能在技术上具有吸引力。该项目的目标是利用一种由贵金属和铁磁体组成的新型杂化材料，其中利用表面等离子体的特殊场限制和强大的光学自旋来实现纳米级的超快磁化全光开关。协同研究和教育活动包括：(1)利用表面等离子体的光学自旋实现面外和面内磁化的操纵；(2)研究金属-铁磁混合结构中不同载流子的动力学及其相互作用；(3)对纳米级、超快磁化反转的机制有新的见解；以及(4)吸引学生，特别是来自代表性不足群体的学生，并向他们传授扎实的基础知识和前沿应用知识。该项目的成果可能使数据存储和信息处理技术的新材料系统具有高速、高容量和低功耗的优势。

Nontechnical Description: Efficient computation, information processing and digital communications rely on technologies utilizing magnetic materials. Recent work has shown that optical laser pulses can be used to manipulate magnetic material properties, promising access to stored data at breakthrough speeds, significantly faster than in current computing devices. However, the fundamental mechanism of this process, as well as the limit to size of the individual memory units are not yet fully understood. This project aims to realize optical control over magnetic memory at unprecedented speed and density, using hybrid materials comprising metallic and magnetic nanostructures. The intertwined optical, thermal and magnetic effects in these materials are examined through a set of experimental and computational studies. The proposed work stands to impact society in multiple ways. Ultrafast, nanoscale optical control of magnetic materials enables data storage, memory and computational devices for applications such as web search engines and online commerce. The integrated education plan incorporates significant outreach, involving students beginning from grades 7-12 to the graduate level. Participating students are exposed to several rapidly growing fields including materials science, optics, and nanotechnology, while additionally interacting with industrial collaborators.Technical Description: All-optical switching of magnetization has emerged as an exciting topic in modern magnetism. In addition to the requirement of fully understanding its rich physics, all-optical switching must compete with the areal densities attainable in current storage devices for it to be technologically compelling. The goal of this project is to utilize a new class of hybrid materials consisting of noble metals and ferromagnets, where the exceptional field confinement and strong optical spin of surface plasmons are leveraged to realize nanoscale ultrafast all-optical switching of magnetization. The synergistic research and education activities include: (1) achieving manipulation of out-of-plane and in-plane magnetization using optical spins of surface plasmons; (2) investigating the dynamics of different carriers and their interactions in hybrid metal-ferromagnet structures; (3) gaining new insights into the mechanism of nanoscale, ultrafast magnetization reversal; and (4) engaging students, especially those from underrepresented groups, and educating them with solid fundamentals and knowledge of cutting-edge applications. Outcomes of this project potentially enable new material systems for data storage and information processing technologies, with the advantages of high speed, high capacity, and low power consumption.