Effect of picosecond strain pulses on thin layers of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)(As,P)

L. Thevenard (1) , E. Peronne (1) , C. Gourdon (1) , C. Testelin (1) , M. Cubukcu (1) , E. Charron (1) , S. Vincent (1) , A. Lemaître (2) , B. Perrin (1)

1 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris
2 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures

The effect of picosecond acoustic strain pulses (ps-ASP) on a thin layer of (Ga,Mn)As codoped with phosphorus was probed using magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). A transient MOKE signal followed by low-amplitude oscillations was evidenced, with a strong dependence on applied magnetic field, temperature, and ps-ASP amplitude. Careful interferometric measurement of the layer’s thickness variation induced by the ps-ASP allowed us to model very accurately the resulting signal, and interpret it as the strain modulated reflectivity (differing for σ± probe polarizations), independently from dynamic magnetization effects.

Mots clés: Magnetic semiconductors; Acoustic propreties of solid; Picosecond techniques; Faraday rotation

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

L. Thevenard, E. Peronne, C. Gourdon, C. Testelin, M. Cubukcu, et al.. Effect of picosecond strain pulses on thin layers of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)(As,P). Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2010, 82 (10), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.82.104422⟩. ⟨hal-00504780⟩