Detection of femtosecond spin injection into a thin gold layer by time and spin resolved photoemission

Abstract

The ultrafast demagnetization effect allows for the generation of femtosecond spin current pulses, which is expected to extend the fields of spin transport and spintronics to the femtosecond time domain. Thus far, directly observing the spin polarization induced by spin injection on the femtosecond time scale has not been possible. Herein, we present time- and spin-resolved photoemission results of spin injection from a laser-excited ferromagnet into a thin gold layer. The injected spin polarization is aligned along the magnetization direction of the underlying ferromagnet. Its decay time depends on the thickness of the gold layer, indicating that transport as well as storage of spins are relevant. This capacitive aspect of spin transport may limit the speed of future spintronic devices.