Detection of femtosecond spin voltage pulses in a thin iron film

Abstract

We present experimental evidence of a spin voltage—a difference between the chemical potentials of the two spin directions—in a thin iron film based on spin- and time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. This voltage is the driving force for a spin current during the ultrafast demagnetization of the sample. The observed magnitude is on the order of 50 mV, a value that is quite consistent with predictions based on particle conservation and persists for approximately 100 fs.