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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Letter › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Letter › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Terahertz modulation of the Faraday rotation by laser pulses via the optical Kerr effect
AU - Subkhangulov, R. R.
AU - Mikhaylovskiy, Rostislav
AU - Zvezdin, A. K.
AU - Kruglyak, V.V.
AU - Rasing, Th.
AU - Kimel, A.V.
PY - 2016/1/4
Y1 - 2016/1/4
N2 - The magneto-optical Faraday effect played a crucial role in the elucidation of the electromagnetic nature of light. Today it is powerful means to probe magnetism and the basic operational principle of magneto-optical modulators. Understanding the mechanisms allowing for modulation of the magneto-optical response at terahertz frequencies may have far-reaching consequences for photonics, ultrafast optomagnetism and magnonics, as well as for future development of ultrafast Faraday modulators. Here we suggest a conceptually new approach for an ultrafast tunable magneto-optical modulation with the help of counter-propagating laser pulses. Using terbium gallium garnet (Tb3Ga5O12) we demonstrate the feasibility of such magneto-optical modulation with a frequency up to 1.1 THz, which is continuously tunable by means of an external magnetic field. Besides the novel concept for ultrafast magneto-optical polarization modulation, our findings reveal the importance of accounting for propagation effects in the interpretation of pump–probe magneto-optical experiments.
AB - The magneto-optical Faraday effect played a crucial role in the elucidation of the electromagnetic nature of light. Today it is powerful means to probe magnetism and the basic operational principle of magneto-optical modulators. Understanding the mechanisms allowing for modulation of the magneto-optical response at terahertz frequencies may have far-reaching consequences for photonics, ultrafast optomagnetism and magnonics, as well as for future development of ultrafast Faraday modulators. Here we suggest a conceptually new approach for an ultrafast tunable magneto-optical modulation with the help of counter-propagating laser pulses. Using terbium gallium garnet (Tb3Ga5O12) we demonstrate the feasibility of such magneto-optical modulation with a frequency up to 1.1 THz, which is continuously tunable by means of an external magnetic field. Besides the novel concept for ultrafast magneto-optical polarization modulation, our findings reveal the importance of accounting for propagation effects in the interpretation of pump–probe magneto-optical experiments.
KW - magneto-optics
KW - terahertz
KW - ultrafast
KW - garnet
U2 - 10.1038/nphoton.2015.249
DO - 10.1038/nphoton.2015.249
M3 - Letter
VL - 10
SP - 111
EP - 114
JO - Nature Photonics
JF - Nature Photonics
SN - 1749-4885
ER -