title: Nanoscale Confinement of All-Optical Magnetic Switching in TbFeCo--Competition with Nanoscale Heterogeneity.
abstract: Single femtosecond optical laser pulses, of sufficient intensity, are demonstrated to reverse magnetization in a process known as all-optical switching. Gold two-wire antennas are placed on the all-optical switching film TbFeCo. These structures are resonant with the optical field, and they create a field enhancement in the near-field which confines the area where optical switching can occur. The magnetic switching that occurs around and below the antenna is imaged using resonant X-ray holography and magnetic circular dichroism. The results not only show the feasibility of controllable switching with antenna assistance but also demonstrate the highly inhomogeneous nature of the switching process, which is attributed to the process depending on the material's heterogeneity.
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Tian-Min
authors: TM
authors: Liu
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Tianhan
authors: T
authors: Wang
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Alexander H
authors: AH
authors: Reid
authors: Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Matteo
authors: M
authors: Savoini
authors: Nano-Optics and Biophotonics Group, Experimentelle Physik 5, Physikalisches Institut, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Center for Complex Material Systems, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland , Würzburg D-97074, Germany.|Experimentalphysik III, Universität Bayreuth , Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors: Xiaofei
authors: X
authors: Wu
authors: Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Benny
authors: B
authors: Koene
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.|van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam , 1018 XE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Granitzka
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Catherine E
authors: CE
authors: Graves
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Daniel J
authors: DJ
authors: Higley
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Zhao
authors: Z
authors: Chen
authors: Nano-Optics and Biophotonics Group, Experimentelle Physik 5, Physikalisches Institut, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Center for Complex Material Systems, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland , Würzburg D-97074, Germany.
authors: Gary
authors: G
authors: Razinskas
authors: Institute Methods and Instrumentation for Synchrotron Radiation Research, G-ISRR, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin , Albert-Einstein-Str 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Hantschmann
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Scherz
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Joachim
authors: J
authors: Stöhr
authors: College of Science and Technology, Nihon University , 7-24-1 Funabashi, Chiba 274-8501, Japan.
authors: Arata
authors: A
authors: Tsukamoto
authors: Nano-Optics and Biophotonics Group, Experimentelle Physik 5, Physikalisches Institut, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Center for Complex Material Systems, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland , Würzburg D-97074, Germany.
authors: Bert
authors: B
authors: Hecht
authors: Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Alexey V
authors: AV
authors: Kimel
authors: Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Andrei
authors: A
authors: Kirilyuk
authors: Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen , Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Theo
authors: T
authors: Rasing
authors: Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
authors: Hermann A
authors: HA
authors: Dürr
keywords: All-optical switching; X-ray holography; X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD); magnetic inhomogeneity; magnetic recording; plasmonics