Role of MCD on optical magnetic recording

Role of Magnetic Circular Dichroism in All-Optical Magnetic Recording.
A. R. Khorsand, M. Savoini, A. Kirilyuk, A.V. Kimel, A. Tsukamoto, A. Itoh, and Th. Rasing
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 127205 (2012)

Illustration of multiple-shot switching with CP excitation pulses. In the center of the excited area, both magnetic states can switch because of the high fluence, while at the edges (i.e., between the dashed borders) helicity-dependent switching occurs and therefore a single domain state is formed. Hence, by sweeping multiple CP excitation pulses over thesurface, a large area can be switched.