Ultrafast spin dynamics and inverse spin Hall effect in nanostructures with giant spin-orbit coupling

The features of ultrafast spin dynamics excitation using high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses in magnetic materials are reviewed. Key mechanisms of a pump pulse action on the spin system of a magnetic material are discussed, including the inverse Faraday effect in yttrium-iron garnet; induced magnetic anisotropy in the thulium orthoferrite, and the thermal driving of a magnetic system out of equilibrium in the case of the metallic ferrimagnet GdFeCo, which is a promising material for magnetic memory and terahertz spintronics. It was shown that, apart from using conventional magneto-optical methods for probing the magnetization dynamics in magnetic heterostructures, the inverse spin Hall effect can also be used, an approach that potentially enables the development of memory elements in which the ultrafast optical control of magnetization is combined with electrical detection.