Electrical detection of spin currents: The spin-current induced Hall effect (invited)

Abstract

We demonstrate electrical detection of spin currents in metallic nanostructures. In a conductor with nonzero spin-orbit coupling, a spin current is predicted in a direction perpendicular to the applied electric field, giving rise to a spin Hall effect, where electrons with opposite spin orientations accumulate at opposite edges of the sample. Conversely, when a spin current is present, a charge imbalance is expected, following the Onsager reciprocal relations between spin and charge currents. We report direct electronic measurements of this effect in a lateral geometry by using a ferromagnetic electrode in combination with a tunnel barrier to inject a spin-polarized current in a paramagnetic conductor. We observe a laterally induced voltage in the latter that results from the conversion of the injected spin current into charge imbalance owing to the spin-orbit coupling. Such a voltage is proportional to the component of the injected spins that is perpendicular to the plane defined by the spin-current direction and the voltage probes. By using this technique in CoFe–Al2O3–Al devices, we determine the spin Hall conductivity of aluminum.