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Transmission of Electron Beams Through Thin Magnetic Films

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Band-Ferromagnetism

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Physics ((LNP,volume 580))

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Abstract

Electrons with the spin polarization vector perpendicular to the magnetization are spin analyzed after transmission through ferromagnetic layers. Due to the exchange energy and the inelastic spin-dependent scattering in the ferromagnet, two types of motion of the spin polarization vector occur: a precession around the magnetization and a rotation towards it. This spin motion is measured as a function of the thickness of the ferromagnetic film and of the electron energy for Fe, Co, and Ni. It is shown how the torque generated on the magnetization by the injection of picosecond pulses of spin-polarized electrons is sufficient to induce precessional magnetization reversal in nanosized magnetic samples. Spin injection establishes a new concept of writing magnetic bits which is extremely fast and requires far less energy compared to the conventional recording employing miniature electromagnets.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorium für Festkörperphysik, ETH Zürich, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland

    W. Weber, S. Riesen & H. C. Siegmann

Authors
  1. W. Weber
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  2. S. Riesen
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  3. H. C. Siegmann
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Experimentalphysik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Klaus Baberschke

  2. Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 110, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Wolfgang Nolting

  3. Physikalisches Institut, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Wilhelm-Klemm. Str. 10, 48149, Münster, Germany

    Markus Donath

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Weber, W., Riesen, S., Siegmann, H.C. (2001). Transmission of Electron Beams Through Thin Magnetic Films. In: Baberschke, K., Nolting, W., Donath, M. (eds) Band-Ferromagnetism. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 580. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44610-9_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44610-9_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-42389-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-44610-1

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