Mechanism of femtosecond laser induced ultrafast demagnetization in ultrathin film magnetic multilayers

Ever since its discovery ultrafast demagnetization has remained one of the most
intriguing research areas in magnetism. Here, we demonstrate that in [Co (tCo )/
Pd (0.9 nm)] 8 multilayers, the characteristic decay time in femtosecond time-
scale varies non-monotonically with tCo in the range 0.07 nm B tCo B 0.75 nm.
Further investigation reveals higher spin fluctuation at higher ratio of electron to
Curie temperature to be responsible for this. Microscopic three-temperature
modelling unravels a similar trend in the spin–lattice interaction strength, which
strongly supports our experimental observation. The knowledge of the fem-
tosecond magnetization decay mechanism in ultrathin ferromagnetic films is
unique and important for the advancement of fundamental magnetism besides
their potential applications in ultrahigh speed spintronic devices.