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The manipulation of the magnetic direction by using the ultrafast laser pulseis attractive for its great advantages in terms of speed and energy efficiencyfor information storage applications. However, the heating and helicity effectsinduced by circularly polarized laser excitation are entangled in thehelicity-dependent all-optical switching (HD-AOS), which hinders theunderstanding of magnetization dynamics involved. Here, by applying a dual-pumplaser excitation, first with a linearly polarized (LP) laser pulse followed bya circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse, we identify the timescales andcontribution from heating and helicity effects in HD-AOS with a Pt/Co/Pt triplelayer. When the sample is preheated by the LP laser pulses to a nearly fullydemagnetized state, CP laser pulses with a much-reduced power switches thesample's magnetization. By varying the time delay between the two pump pulses,we show that the helicity effect, which gives rise to the deterministichelicity induced switching, onsets instantly upon laser excitation, and onlyexists for less than 0.2 ps close to the laser pulse duration of 0.15 ps. Theresults reveal that that the transient magnetization state upon which CP laserpulses impinge is the key factor for achieving HD-AOS, and importantly, thetunability between heating and helicity effects with the unique dual-pump laserexcitation approach will enable HD-AOS in a wide range of magnetic materialsystems for the potential ultrafast spintronics applications.

Timescales and contribution of heating and helicity effect in helicity-dependent all-optical switching