Magnetic-field-induced crossover from the inverse Faraday effect to the optical orientation in EuTe

Abstract: A time-resolved optical pump-probe technique has been applied for studying the ultrafast dynamics in the magnetic semiconductor EuTe near the absorption band gap. We show that application of external magnetic field up to 6 T results in crossover from the inverse Faraday effect taking place on the femtosecond time scale to the optical orientation phenomenon with an evolution in the picosecond time domain. We propose a model which includes both these processes possessing different spectral and temporal properties. The circularly polarized optical pumping induces the optical electronic transition $$4f^75d⁰ \rightarrow 4f<sup>65d<sup>1$$ forming the absorption band gap in EuTe. The observed crossover is related to a strong magnetic-field shift of the band gap in EuTe at low temperatures. It was found that manipulation of spin states on intrinsic defect levels takes place on a time scale of 19 ps in the applied magnetic field of 6 T.