Ultrafast Magnetization Dynamics in the Presence of Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling

The time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect is used to study magnetization dynamics in thin films of SrRuO3. This thesis focuses on two topics in particular: the influence of epitaxial strain on magnetization dynamics and magnetic orientation, and the origin of the dramatic slowing down of the demagnetization time near the Curie temperature. Magnetization dynamics in SrRuO3 are initiated by a temperature dependent rotation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy field direction upon thermal excitation by the laser. The resulting dynamics depend on the orientation of the anisotropy field in the sample. We observe a change in the orientation as a function of epitaxially strain by looking at SrRuO3grown on various substrates with (001) orientation and distinct in-plane lattice parameters. We find that in SrRuO3 films under compressive strain, the anisotropy field moves in a plane perpendicular to the film surface. Beyond a certain degree of tensile strain, the anisotropy field moves in the plane parallel to the surface of the film. Support of this result from theoretical calculations and XRD measurements is discussed and attempts to strain tune films with a piezoelectric substrate are described.Near the Curie temperature, the demagnetization time in SrRuO3/SrTiO3(111) is found to increase by more than a factor of ten. Here, we study this effect in detail and derive an equation for the demagnetization time in terms of the spin flip time, starting from detailed balance and borrowing from a recent spin-based model for demagnetization[57, 58]. The demagnetization time is found to be proportional to the spin flip time and inversely proportional to the reduced temperature near Tc, allowing us to measure the spin flip time. We also relate the spin flip time and the damping parameter to the Curie temperature and find that the previously speculated upon relationship between the damping parameter in SrRuO3 and the anomalous Hall effect is strengthened