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THz pulses from optically excited Fe-, Pt- and Ta-based spintronic heterostructures

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Abstract

Spintronic heterostructures are considered to be the new generation terahertz (THz) sources because of their capability of producing high power and broadband THz radiation. Here, we provide a brief review on the state-of-the-art in this field. The optically excited bi- and tri-layer combinations of ferromagnetic and non-magnetic thin films have become increasingly popular. Towards optimising the THz conversion efficiency and broadband gapless spectrum from these THz emitters, various control parameters need to be taken into consideration. The inverse spin Hall effect in the heavy metal layer of the heterostructure is primarily responsible for the generation of THz pulses. A few new results on iron-, platinum- and tantalum-based heterostructures have also been reported here. It is observed that the Ta(2 nm)/Fe(2 nm)/Pt(2 nm) tri-layer heterostructure generates \(\sim \)40(250)% stronger THz signal than the counterpart Fe(2 nm)/Pt(2 nm) (Fe(3 nm)/Ta(2 nm)) bi-layer heterostructure.

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Acknowledgements

SK acknowledges SERB (DST) and Joint Advanced Technology Centre at IIT Delhi for financial support. One of the authors (Sandeep Kumar) acknowledges University Grants Commission, Government of India for Senior Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Femtosecond Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Photonics Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110 016, India

    Sandeep Kumar, Anand Nivedan, Arvind Singh & Sunil Kumar

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  1. Sandeep Kumar
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  2. Anand Nivedan
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  3. Arvind Singh
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  4. Sunil Kumar
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Correspondence to Sunil Kumar.

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Kumar, S., Nivedan, A., Singh, A. et al. THz pulses from optically excited Fe-, Pt- and Ta-based spintronic heterostructures. Pramana - J Phys 95, 75 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12043-021-02102-3

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