Abstract

Non-thermal, optical magnetization control and switching offers new opportunities for data recording. Future applications require not only temporal, but also spatial control of magnetization at the nanoscale, which can be realized using surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) – electromagnetic modes highly localized at metal/dielectric interfaces. Here, promising materials are hybrid structures with ferromagnetic iron garnets [1-3], where the laser-induced magnetization switching can be realized using the photomagnetism or the inverse Faraday effect. Recent investigations have shown that plasmonic and magnetic effects can be effectively combined in hybrid magnetoplasmonic crystals consisting of a garnet with a noble metal grating on top (Fig. 1,a) [4, 5]. These structures support SPPs at both sides of the metal grating [6], providing flexibility in the localization of the excitation at the nanoscale and enabling local SPP-assisted manipulation of magnetization. Combining spatial nanoscale with sub-picosecond time resolution, magneto-plasmonics is a promising playground for novel future devices utilizing SPPs for transmitting and recording the magnetically stored data.

© 2017 IEEE