Electron-spin-dependent terahertz light transport in spintronic-plasmonic media

In this Letter, we demonstrate that electron spin can influence near-field mediated light propagation through a dense ensemble of subwavelength bimetallic ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic microparticles. In particular, we show that ferromagnetic particles coated with nonmagnetic metal nanolayers exhibit an enhanced magnetic field controlled attenuation of the electromagnetic field propagated through the sample. The mechanism is related to dynamic, electromagnetically induced electron spin accumulation in the nonmagnet. The discovery of an electron spin phenomenon in the light interaction with metallic particles opens the door to the marriage of spintronic and plasmonic technologies and could pave the way for the development of light-based devices that exploit the electron spin state.