  Switching of magnetic tunnel junction using femto-second laser enables a
possible path for THz frequency memory operation, which means writing speeds 2
orders of magnitude faster than alternative electrical approaches based on spin
transfer or spin orbit torque. In this work we demonstrate successful
field-free 50fs single laser pulse driven magnetization reversal of [Tb/Co]
based storage layer in a perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction. The
nanofabricated magnetic tunnel junction devices have an optimized bottom
reference electrode and show Tunnel Magnetoresistance Ratio values (TMR) up to
74\% after patterning down to sub-100nm lateral dimensions. Experiments on
continuous films reveal peculiar reversal patterns of concentric rings with
opposite magnetic directions, above certain threshold fluence. These rings have
been correlated to patterned device switching probability as a function of the
applied laser fluence. Moreover, the magnetization reversal is independent on
the duration of the laser pulse. According to our macrospin model, the
underlying magnetization reversal mechanism can be attributed to an in-plane
reorientation of the magnetization due to a fast reduction of the out-of-plane
uniaxial anisotropy. These aspects are of great interest both for the physical
understanding of the switching phenomenon and their consequences for
all-optical-switching memory devices, since they allow for a large fluence
operation window with high resilience to pulse length variability.
