The role of electron and phonon temperatures in the helicity-independent   all-optical switching of GdFeCo
  Ultrafast optical heating of the electrons in ferrimagnetic metals can result in all-optical switching (AOS) of the magnetization. Here we report quantitative measurements of the temperature rise of GdFeCo thin films during helicity-independent AOS. Critical switching fluences are obtained as a function of the initial temperature of the sample and for laser pulse durations from 55 fs to 15 ps. We conclude that non-equilibrium phenomena are necessary for helicity-independent AOS, although the peak electron temperature does not play a critical role. Pump-probe time-resolved experiments show that the switching time increases as the pulse duration increases, with 10 ps pulses resulting in switching times of ~sim 13 ps. These results raise new questions about the fundamental mechanism of helicity-independent AOS. 
Jon Gorchon, Richard B. Wilson, Yang Yang, Akshay Pattabi, Junyang   Chen, Li He, Jianping Wang, Mo Li and Jeffrey Bokor
cond-mat.mes-hall