Dual-shot dynamics and ultimate frequency of all-optical magnetic recording on GdFeCo

Abstract

Optical magnetization: extreme limits for magnetic data recording with light The potential for combining the speed of photonics with the advantages of magnetic data storage, using pulsed laser light to control the magnetization of alloys of gadolinium, iron and cobalt (GdFeCo), has been explored and quantified. Achieving ultrafast and energy-efficient optical control of magnetism could revolutionize information-processing technology. Researchers led by Xiangping Li at Jinan University in China and Alexey V. Kimel at Radboud University in The Netherlands have experimentally determined the fastest possible rate of the optical reversal of magnetization achieved by this promising new technology. They suggest data switching repetition rates of up to three billion cycles per second (3 GHz) are feasible. They also propose a method to achieve spatial resolution of data recording at scales below light’s ‘diffraction limit’, which is generally believed to restrict the attainable resolution.