Project B2

A. Fognini, G. Salvatella, T.U. Michlmayr, C. Wetli, U. Ramsperger, T. Bähler, F. Sorgenfrei, M. Beye, A. Eschenlohr, N. Pontius, C. Stamm, F. Hieke, M. Dell‘Angela, S. de Jong, R. Kukreja, N. Gerasimova, V. Rybnikov, H. Redlin, J. Raabe, W. Wurth et.
Spin-resolved photoemission is one of the most direct ways of measuring the magnetization of a ferromagnet. If all valence band electrons contribute, the measured average spin polarization is proportional to the magnetization. This is even the case if electronic excitations are present, and thus is of particular interest for studying the response of the magnetization to a pump laser pulse. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of ultrafast spin-resolved photoemission using free electron laser (FEL) radiation and investigate the effect of space charge on the detected spin polarization. The sample is exposed to the radiation of the FEL FLASH in Hamburg. Surprisingly, the measured spin polarization depends on the fluence of the FEL radiation: a higher FEL fluence reduces the measured spin polarization. Space-charge simulations can explain this effect. These findings have consequences for future spin-polarized photoemission experiments using pulsed photon sources.
New Journal of Physics 16, 043031 (2014)

A. Fognini, T. U. Michlmayr, G. Salvatella, C. Wetli, U. Ramsperger, T. Bähler, F.Sorgenfrei, M. Beye, A. Eschenlohr, N. Pontius, C. Stamm, F. Hieke, M. Dell'Angela, S. de Jong, R. Kukreja, N. Gerasimova, V. Rybnikov, H. Redlin, W. Wurth, et. al
Surprisingly, if a ferromagnet is exposed to an ultrafast laser pulse, its apparent magnetization is reduced within less than a picosecond. Up to now, the total magnetization, i.e., the average spin polarization of the whole valence band, was not detectable on a sub-picosecond time scale. Here, we present experimental data, confirming the ultrafast reduction of the total magnetization. Soft x-ray pulses from the free electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH) extract polarized cascade photoelectrons from an iron layer excited by a femtosecond laser pulse. The spin polarization of the emitted electrons is detected by a Mott spin polarimeter.
Applied Physics Letters 104, 032402 (2014)

S. de Jong, R. Kukreja, C. Trabant, N. Pontius, C.F. Chang, T. Kachel, M. Beye, F. Sorgenfrei, C. H. Back, B. Bräuer, W.F. Schlotter, J.J. Turner, O. Krupin, M. Doehler, D. Zhu, M.A. Hossain, W. Wurth, D. Fausti, F. Novelli, M. Esposito, et. al
As the oldest known magnetic material, magnetite (Fe3O4) has fascinated mankind for millennia. As the first oxide in which a relationship between electrical conductivity and fluctuating/localized electronic order was shown, magnetite represents a model system for understanding correlated oxides in general. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism of the insulator–metal, or Verwey, transition has long remained inaccessible. Recently, three-Fe-site lattice distortions called trimerons were identified as the characteristic building blocks of the low-temperature insulating electronically ordered phase9. Here we investigate the Verwey transition with pump–probe X-ray diffraction and optical reflectivity techniques, and show how trimerons become mobile across the insulator–metal transition. We find this to be a two-step process. After an initial 300 fs destruction of individual trimerons, phase separation occurs on a 1.5±0.2 ps timescale to yield residual insulating and metallic regions. This work establishes the speed limit for switching in future oxide electronics.
Nature Materials 12, 882 (2013)