Optimising materials for energy-efficient all-optical magnetic switching

The all-optimal magnetic switching is a promising phenomenon to push forward the speed of the magnetic recording. This switching with linearly polarized lasers has been shown to have a pure thermodynamical origin and received the name of thermally induced magnetization switching (TIMS). TIMS has enormous potential for reduction of the energy consumption. It has been shown to occur in antiferromagnetically coupled alloys and heterostructures. Here we discuss the criteria for the TIMS to occur. Based on this criterium we discuss possible optimization of materials with respect to the rare-earth content and the dynamics of electron and phonon systems.