Crystal orientation dependent spin pumping in a Bi0.1Y2.9Fe5O12/Pt interface

Abstract

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) based spin pumping is a versatile tool to quantify the spin-mixing conductance and spin-to-charge conversion (S2CC) efficiency of ferromagnet–normal metal (FM/NM) heterostructures. The spin-mixing conductance at the FM–NM interface can also be tuned by the crystal orientation symmetry of epitaxial FM. In this work, we study the S2CC in epitaxial bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi0.1Y2.9Fe5O12) thin-film Bi–YIG (100 nm) interfaced with heavy metal platinum (Pt, 8 nm) deposited by pulsed laser deposition on different crystal orientations of Gd3Ga5O12 substrates, i.e. [100] and [111]. The crystal structure and surface roughness characterized by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements establish epitaxial Bi–YIG [100] and Bi–YIG [111] orientations, and atomically flat surfaces, respectively. The S2CC quantification was realized using two complementary techniques, namely (i) FMR-based spin pumping and the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) at GHz frequencies and (ii) temperature-dependent spin Seebeck measurements. The FMR-ISHE results demonstrate that the [111]-oriented Bi–YIG/Pt sample shows significantly higher values of spin mixing conductance ((2.31 ± 0.23) × 1018 m−2) and spin Hall angle (0.01 ± 0.001) as compared to the [100]-oriented Bi–YIG/Pt. Longitudinal spin Seebeck measurements reveal that the [111]-oriented sample has a higher spin Seebeck coefficient (106.40 ± 10 nV mm−1 K−1). The anisotropic nature of the spin-mixing conductance and spin Seebeck coefficient in the [111] and [100] orientations are discussed using the magnetic environment elongation along the surface normal or parallel to the growth direction. Our results aid in understanding the role of crystal orientation symmetry in S2CC-based spintronics devices.