  Time-resolved optical spectroscopy represents an effective non-invasive
approach to investigate the interplay of different degrees of freedom, which
plays a key role in the development of novel functional materials. Here, we
present magneto-acoustic data on Ni thin films on SiO2 as obtained by a
versatile pump-probe setup that combines transient grating spectroscopy with
time-resolved magnetic polarimetry. The possibility to easily switch from a
pulsed to continuous wave probe allows probing of acoustic and magnetization
dynamics on a broad time scale, in both transmission and reflection geometry.
