Transient Grating Spectroscopy in Magnetic Thin Films: Simultaneous Detection of Elastic and Magnetic Dynamics.

Surface magnetoelastic waves are coupled elastic and magnetic excitations that propagate along the surface of a magnetic material. Ultrafast optical techniques allow for a non-contact excitation and detection scheme while providing the ability to measure both elastic and magnetic components individually. Here we describe a simple setup suitable for excitation and time resolved measurements of high frequency magnetoelastic waves, which is based on the transient grating technique.