Dynamical spin reorientation transition in NdFeO3 single crystal observed with polarized terahertz time domain spectroscopy

Temperature-induced spin reorientation transition in NdFeO3 single crystal is studied by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in the temperature range from 50K to 290 K. Following the resonant excitation of quasi-antiferromagnetic (AF) mode, the nature of temperature dependence of emission from AF-mode is investigated systematically in the spin reorientation temperature interval. The emission frequency is observed at 0.485 THz for both Gamma(4) and Gamma(24) phases, and it shifts abruptly to 0.456 THz (around 110 K) corresponding to Gamma(2) phase. The evolution of vector G is obtained from the temperature-dependent polarization changes of the AF-mode excitation. Our results demonstrate that the polarized terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is a sensitive tool to explore the dynamical spin reorientation transition in RFeO3 crystals, and the terahertz magnetic pulse shows potential application for non-thermally manipulating ultrafast spin reorientation. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.