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We report on spin-orbit torque measurements in ferrimagnetic Gd21(Fe90Co10)79 films with bulk perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and thicknesses up to 30nm. The dampinglike and fieldlike torques have been quantified using second harmonic Hall voltage detection. Both torques show an inverse linear dependence on the thickness that is indicative of the interfacial nature of the torques. The spin-Hall angle remains constant over the thickness range of 10 to 30nm Gd21(Fe90Co10)79. Remarkably, we find that this interfacial torque is able to switch a 30-nm-thick Gd21(Fe90Co10)79 film with a reasonably large thermal stability of ≈100kBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the magnetic response of Co/Pt multilayers to picosecond electrical heating. Using photoconductive Auston switches, we generate electrical pulses with 5.5 ps duration and hundreds of pico-Joules to pass through Co/Pt multilayers. The electrical pulse heats the electrons in the Co/Pt multilayers and causes an ultrafast reduction in the magnetic moment. A comparison between optical and electrically induced demagnetization of the Co/Pt multilayers reveals significantly different dynamics for optical vs electrical heating. We attribute the disparate dynamics to the dependence of the electron-phonon interaction on the average energy and the total number of initially excited electrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]