Optical detection of spin Hall effect in metals

Abstract

Optical techniques have been widely used to probe the spin Hall effect in semiconductors. In metals, however, only electrical methods such as nonlocal spin valve transport, ferromagnetic resonance, or spin torque transfer experiments have been successful. These methods require complex processing techniques and measuring setups. We show here that the spin Hall effect can be observed in non-magnetic metals such as Pt and β-W, using a standard bench top magneto-optical Kerr system with very little sample preparation. Applying a square wave current and using Fourier analysis significantly improve our detection level. One can readily determine the angular dependence of the induced polarization on the bias current direction (very difficult to do with voltage detection), the orientation of the spin Hall induced polarization, and the sign of the spin Hall angle. This optical approach is free from the complications of various resistive effects, which can compromise voltage measurements. This opens up the study of spin Hall effect in metals to a variety of spin dynamic and spatial imaging experiments.