Detection Of Spin Currents Research Articles

Electric-Field Control of Spin Current Generation and Detection in Ferromagnet-Free SrTiO3-Based Nanodevices.

Spintronics entails the generation, transport, manipulation and detection of spin currents, usually in hybrid architectures comprising interfaces whose impact on performance is detrimental. In addition, how spins are generated and detected is generally material specific and determined by the electronic structure. Here, we demonstrate spin current generation, transport and electrical detection, all within a single non-magnetic material system: a SrTiO3 two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We show that the spin current is generated from a charge current by the 2D spin Hall effect, transported through a channel and reconverted into a charge current by the inverse 2D spin Hall effect. Furthermore, by adjusting the Fermi energy with a gate voltage we tune the generated and detected spin polarization and relate it to the complex multiorbital band structure of the 2DEG. We discuss the leading mechanisms of the spin-charge interconversion processes and argue for the potential of quantum oxide materials for future all-electrical low-power spin-based logic.

Large Multidirectional Spin-to-Charge Conversion in Low-Symmetry Semimetal MoTe2 at Room Temperature.

Efficient and versatile spin-to-charge current conversion is crucial for the development of spintronic applications, which strongly rely on the ability to electrically generate and detect spin currents. In this context, the spin Hall effect has been widely studied in heavy metals with strong spin-orbit coupling. While the high crystal symmetry in these materials limits the conversion to the orthogonal configuration, unusual configurations are expected in low-symmetry transition-metal dichalcogenide semimetals, which could add flexibility to the electrical injection and detection of pure spin currents. Here, we report the observation of spin-to-charge conversion in MoTe2 flakes, which are stacked in graphene lateral spin valves. We detect two distinct contributions arising from the conversion of two different spin orientations. In addition to the conventional conversion where the spin polarization is orthogonal to the charge current, we also detect a conversion where the spin polarization and the charge current are parallel. Both contributions, which could arise either from bulk spin Hall effect or surface Edelstein effect, show large efficiencies comparable to the best spin Hall metals and topological insulators. Our finding enables the simultaneous conversion of spin currents with any in-plane spin polarization in one single experimental configuration.

Spin current detection in antiferromagnetic CuMnAs

In this paper, we investigate the spin current to charge current conversion properties of the metallic collinear antiferromagnetic (AF) CuMnAs. Bilayers of Permalloy (Py = Ni81Fe19)/CuMnAs and yttrium iron garnet (YIG = Y3Fe5O13)/CuMnAs were investigated by means of the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) using spin pumping effect and spin Seebeck effect experiments in which a spin-current generated in the ferromagnetic layer is injected into the AF layer. The CuMnAs layers with the thickness in the range of 3–20 nm grown by sputtering have a textured polycrystalline structure in the tetragonal phase. By measuring the ISHE current of each bilayer, we were able to obtain two key spintronic parameters: the spin Hall angle (θSH) and the spin diffusion length (λsd) for CuMnAs, which are θSH=0.009 and λSd=2.7 nm. With this investigation, we show that the unique AF material CuMnAs can be used as a spin-current detector, which opens up new avenues for AF spintronics.

Broadband Optical Detection Using the Spin Seebeck Effect

The generation, control, and detection of spin currents in solid-state devices are critical for Joule-heating minimization, spin-based computation, and electrical energy generation from thermal gradients. Although incorporation of spin functionality into technologically important architectures is still in its infancy, advantages over all-electric devices are increasingly becoming clear. Here, we utilize the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in Pt/Y3Fe5O12 devices to detect light from 390 to 2200 nm. We find the device responsivity is remarkably flat across this technologically important wavelength range, closely following the Pt absorption coefficient. As expected from a SSE-generation mechanism, we observe that the photovoltage and Pt heating dynamics are in strong agreement. To precisely determine the optically created thermal gradient produced from a point-like heat source, we introduce a field-modulation method for measuring the SSE. Our results show broadband optical detection can be performed with devices based solely on spin current generation and detection.

Spin current generation in organic antiferromagnets

Spin current–a flow of electron spins without a charge current–is an ideal information carrier free from Joule heating for electronic devices. The celebrated spin Hall effect, which arises from the relativistic spin-orbit coupling, enables us to generate and detect spin currents in inorganic materials and semiconductors, taking advantage of their constituent heavy atoms. In contrast, organic materials consisting of molecules with light elements have been believed to be unsuited for spin current generation. Here we show that a class of organic antiferromagnets with checker-plate type molecular arrangements can serve as a spin current generator by applying a thermal gradient or an electric field, even with vanishing spin-orbit coupling. Our findings provide another route to create a spin current distinct from the conventional spin Hall effect and open a new field of spintronics based on organic magnets having advantages of small spin scattering and long lifetime.

Dirac nodal lines and large spin Hall effect in the 6H -perovskite iridate Ba3TiIr2O9

Nodal line semimetals with symmetry protected band structure offer a platform for the investigation of a number of emerging quantum phenomena. Using first-principles calculation combined with symmetry analysis, we show that ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{3}{\mathrm{TiIr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{9}$ hosts a Dirac nodal line (DNL) along the $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}L$ direction of the Brillouin zone, protected by the glide reflection symmetry. In the presence of the spin-orbit coupling, even though the DNL along the $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}L$ direction is protected, DNLs along other directions as well as multiple nodal loops present in the system gap out. The gapped out Dirac nodal loops act as a source of spin Berry curvature, resulting in a large spin Hall conductivity ($\ensuremath{\approx}300$ $\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}}{e}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$). This suggests the possible application of the material as a spin current detector.

Boundary conditions for spin and charge diffusion in the presence of interfacial spin-orbit coupling

Breaking of the inversion symmetry at the interface between different materials may dramatically enhance spin-orbit interaction in the vicinity of the interface. We incorporate the effects of this interfacial spin-orbit coupling (ISOC) into the standard drift-diffusion theory by deriving generalized boundary conditions for diffusion equations. Our theoretical scheme is based on symmetry arguments, providing a natural classification and parametrization of all spin-charge and spin-spin conversion effects that occur due to ISOC at macroscopically isotropic interfaces between nonmagnetic materials. We illustrate our approach with specific examples of spin-charge conversion in hybrid structures. In particular, for a lateral metal-insulator structure we predict an "ISOC-gating" effect which can be used to detect spin currents in metallic films with weak bulk SOC.

Magnetization-direction-dependent inverse spin Hall effect observed in IrMn/NiFe/Cu/YIG multilayer structure**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2015CB921502), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11474184 and 11627805), the 111 Project, China (Grant No. B13029), and the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University, China.

The magnetization-direction-dependent inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) has been observed in NiFe film during spin Seebeck measurement in IrMn/NiFe/Cu/yttrium iron garnet (YIG) multilayer structure, where the YIG and NiFe layers act as the spin injector and spin current detector, respectively. By using the NiFe/IrMn exchange bias structure, the magnetization direction of YIG (MYIG) can be rotated with respect to that of NiFe (MNiFe) with a small magnetic field, thus allowing us to observe the magnetization-direction-dependent inverse spin Hall effect voltage in NiFe layer. Compared with the situation that polarization direction of spin current (σs) is perpendicular to MNiFe, the spin Seebeck voltage is about 30% larger than that when σs and MNiFe are parallel to each other. This phenomenon may originate from either or both of stronger interface or bulk scattering to spin current when σs and MNiFe are perpendicular to each other. Our work provides a way to control the voltage induced by ISHE in ferromagnets.

Investigation of spin Seebeck effect and magnetic damping in nanometer thick Ce0.5Y2.5Fe5O12 films

The ferromagnetic insulators (FMI) involving the phonon-magnon interaction in generation of spin currents are providing new opportunities to explore the thermal to electrical conversion efficiency in comparison to electron based themoelectrics. Here, we have investigated the magnetic damping behavior and spin Seebeck effect in crystalline, highly smooth surfaced, nano-meter thick FMI Ce0.5Y2.5Fe5O12 (CeYIG) films, synthesized via pulsed laser deposition technique, for their application in spin caloritronics. The CeYIG films reveal an increase of saturation magnetization, strong magnetic anisotropy and a very low magnetic damping, optimum for investigation of pure spin currents generated via inverse spin Hall Effect. The room temperature longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) was observed on sputtering of 8 nm thick Hall bar patterned rhodium (Rh) on CeYIG films. The magnitude of LSSE voltage obtained showed a characteristic increase and saturation of signal with the increase of film thickness, indicating the origin of spin current generation from the bulk of CeYIG film. The pure spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) was observed in temperature range of 5–300 K implying the LSSE observed in Rh layer is purely from the spin current generated within the FMI and free from parasitic magnetic proximity effect (MPE). The use of Rh as a normal metal for the detection of spin current can open a new window in the exploration of pure spin current related phenomena.

Toward the Optimized Spintronic Response of Sn‐Doped IrO2 Thin Films

AbstractAmorphous and polycrystalline Sn‐doped IrO2 thin films, Ir1‐xSnxO2, are grown for the first time. Their electrical response and strength of the spin–orbit coupling are studied in order to better understand and tailor its performance as spin current detector material. These experiments prove that the resistivity of IrO2 can be tuned over several orders of magnitude by controlling the doping content in both the amorphous and the polycrystalline state. In addition, growing amorphous samples increase the resistivity, thus improving the spin current to charge current conversion. As far as the spin–orbit coupling is concerned, the system not only remains in a strong spin–orbit coupling regime but it seems to undergo a slight enhancement in the amorphous state as well as in the Sn‐doped samples.

The observation of inherent spin Seebeck effect in Rh/YIG hybrid structure

Rhodium (Rh) is a 4d metal possessing a large spin orbit coupling strength and spin-Hall conductivity with a very small magnetic susceptibility, implying an insignificant magnetic proximity effect (MPE). We report here the observation of longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) using Rh as a normal metal. A Rh film was sputtered on nanometer thick YIG films of highly crystalline nature and extremely low magnetic damping to obtain Rh/YIG hybrid structure. A clear thermal voltage Vth (SSE voltage) was obtained when a temperature gradient was applied on the Rh/YIG hybrid. The Rh film showed a very weak anomalous Hall resistance and the magneto-resistive testing clearly ruled out the magnetization of the Rh films via MPE. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) revealed a clear spin hall magnetoresistance (SMR) signal in Rh film implying a purely intrinsic spin current generation, free from any parasitic magnetic effects. The work can open a new window in the study of pure and uncontaminated spin current, generated in ferromagnetic insulators, using Rh as spin current detector.

Spin Injection and Accumulation in the Planar NiFe–InSb–NiFe and NiFe–Cu–NiFe Spin Valves

Spin injection and accumulation have been studied for NiFe–InSb–NiFe and NiFe–Cu–NiFe planar spin valves with direct injection current I in nonlocal (NLSV) and local (LSV) measurement configurations at temperature 8–300 K. The value of the generated voltage U and the character of the dependence U(I) drastically changed for currents I greater some critical value Ic due to thermoelectric effects. For NLSV configuration and currents I<Ic the value of U is of 2–3 order of magnitude higher for NiFe–InSb–NiFe (U ≈ 1–3 mV at 300 K) structures in comparison with NiFe–Cu–NiFe (U ≈ 4–20 µV at 8 K). For LSV geometry electrical detection of spin current was observed only for NiFe–Cu–NiFe structure, where for I<Ic the magnetoresistance (MR) effect of the order 0.5% was detected. For currents I of 1.5–2% higher than Ic the MR of the order of 10–30% was observed for both NLSV and LSV configurations for studied structures.

Tuning spin-charge interconversion with quantum confinement in ultrathin bismuth films

Spin-charge interconversion (SCI) phenomena have attracted a growing interest in the field of spintronics as means to detect spin currents or manipulate the magnetization of ferromagnets. The key ingredients to exploit these assets are a large conversion efficiency, the scalability down to the nanometer scale and the integrability with opto-electronic and spintronic devices. Here we show that, when an ultrathin Bi film is epitaxially grown on top of a Ge(111) substrate, quantum size effects arising in nanometric Bi islands drastically boost the SCI efficiency, even at room temperature. Using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spin- and angle-resolved photoemission (S-ARPES) we obtain a clear picture of the film morphology, crystallography and electronic structure. We then exploit the Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) and inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect (IREE) to directly quantify the SCI efficiency using optical and electrical spin injection.

Efficient Injection and Detection of Out-of-Plane Spins via the Anomalous Spin Hall Effect in Permalloy Nanowires.

We report a novel mechanism for the electrical injection and detection of out-of-plane spin accumulation via the anomalous spin Hall effect (ASHE), where the direction of the spin accumulation can be controlled by manipulating the magnetization of the ferromagnet. This mechanism is distinct from the spin Hall effect (SHE), where the spin accumulation is created along a fixed direction parallel to an interface. We demonstrate this unique property of the ASHE in nanowires made of permalloy (Py) to inject and detect out-of-plane spin accumulation in a magnetic insulator, yttrium iron garnet (YIG). We show that the efficiency for the injection/detection of out-of-plane spins can be up to 50% of that of in-plane spins. We further report the possibility to detect spin currents parallel to the Py/YIG interface for spins fully oriented in the out-of-plane direction, resulting in a sign reversal of the nonlocal magnon spin signal. The new mechanisms that we have demonstrated are highly relevant for spin torque devices and applications.

Thermally driven anomalous Hall effect transitions in FeRh.

Materials exhibiting controllable magnetic phase transitions are currently in demand for many spintronics applications. Here we investigate from first principles the electronic structure and intrinsic anomalous Hall, spin Hall and anomalous Nernst response properties of the FeRh metallic alloy which undergoes a thermally driven antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition. We show that the energy band structures and underlying Berry curvatures have important signatures in the various Hall effects. Specifically, the suppression of the anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in the AFM state and a sign change in the spin Hall conductivity across the transition are found. It is suggested that the FeRh can be used a spin current detector capable of differentiating the spin Hall effect from other anomalous transverse effects. The implications of this material and its thermally driven phases as a spin current detection scheme are also discussed.

Generation and detection of dissipationless spin current in a MgO/Si bilayer

Spintronics is an analogue to electronics where the spin of the electron rather than its charge is functionally controlled for devices. The generation and detection of spin current without ferromagnetic or exotic/scarce materials are two of the biggest challenges for spintronics devices. In this study, we report a solution to the two problems of spin current generation and detection in Si. Using non-local measurement, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of helical dissipationless spin current using the spin-Hall effect. Contrary to the theoretical prediction, we observe the spin-Hall effect in both n-doped and p-doped Si. The helical spin current is attributed to the site-inversion asymmetry of the diamond cubic lattice of Si and structure inversion asymmetry in a MgO/Si bilayer. The spin to charge conversion in Si is insignificant due to weak spin–orbit coupling. For the efficient detection of spin current, we report spin to charge conversion at the MgO (1 nm)/Si (2 µm) (p-doped and n-doped) thin film interface due to Rashba spin–orbit coupling. We detected the spin current at a distance of >100 µm, which is an order of magnitude larger than the longest spin diffusion length measured using spin injection techniques. The existence of spin current in Si is verified from the coercivity reduction in a Co/Pd multilayer due to spin–orbit torque generated by spin current from Si.

Magnon detection using a ferroic collinear multilayer spin valve

Information transport and processing by pure magnonic spin currents in insulators is a promising alternative to conventional charge-current-driven spintronic devices. The absence of Joule heating and reduced spin wave damping in insulating ferromagnets have been suggested for implementing efficient logic devices. After the successful demonstration of a majority gate based on the superposition of spin waves, further components are required to perform complex logic operations. Here, we report on magnetization orientation-dependent spin current detection signals in collinear magnetic multilayers inspired by the functionality of a conventional spin valve. In Y3Fe5O12|CoO|Co, we find that the detection amplitude of spin currents emitted by ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping depends on the relative alignment of the Y3Fe5O12 and Co magnetization. This yields a spin valve-like behavior with an amplitude change of 120% in our systems. We demonstrate the reliability of the effect and identify its origin by both temperature-dependent and power-dependent measurements.

Spin Seebeck effect and thermal spin galvanic effect in Ni80Fe20/p-Si bilayers

The development of spintronics and spin-caloritronics devices needs efficient generation, detection, and manipulation of spin current. The thermal spin current from the spin-Seebeck effect has been reported to be more energy efficient than the electrical spin injection methods. However, spin detection has been the one of the bottlenecks since metals with large spin-orbit coupling is an essential requirement. In this work, we report an efficient thermal generation and interfacial detection of spin current. We measured a spin-Seebeck effect in Ni80Fe20 (25 nm)/p-Si (50 nm) (polycrystalline) bilayers without a heavy metal spin detector. p-Si, having a centrosymmetric crystal structure, has insignificant intrinsic spin-orbit coupling, leading to negligible spin-charge conversion. We report a giant inverse spin-Hall effect, essential for the detection of spin-Seebeck effects, in the Ni80Fe20/p-Si bilayer structure, which originates from Rashba spin orbit coupling due to structure inversion asymmetry at the interface. In addition, the thermal spin pumping in p-Si leads to spin current from p-Si to the Ni80Fe20 layer due to the thermal spin galvanic effect and the spin-Hall effect, causing spin-orbit torques. The thermal spin-orbit torques lead to collapse of magnetic hysteresis of the 25 nm thick Ni80Fe20 layer. The thermal spin-orbit torques can be used for efficient magnetic switching for memory applications. These scientific breakthroughs may give impetus to the silicon spintronics and spin-caloritronics devices.

Correlation Effects and Hidden Spin-Orbit Entangled Electronic Order in Parent and Electron-Doped Iridates Sr2IrO4

Analogs of the high-T$_c$ cuprates have been long sought after in transition metal oxides. Due to the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the $5d$ perovskite iridates Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ exhibit a low-energy electronic structure remarkably similar to the cuprates. Whether a superconducting state exists as in the cuprates requires understanding the correlated spin-orbit entangled electronic states. Recent experiments discovered hidden order in the parent and electron doped iridates, some with striking analogies to the cuprates, including Fermi surface pockets, Fermi arcs, and pseudogap. Here, we study the correlation and disorder effects in a five-orbital model derived from the band theory. We find that the experimental observations are consistent with a $d$-wave spin-orbit density wave order that breaks the symmetry of a joint two-fold spin-orbital rotation followed by a lattice translation. There is a Berry phase and a plaquette spin flux due to spin procession as electrons hop between Ir atoms, akin to the intersite SOC in quantum spin Hall insulators. The associated staggered circulating $J_\text{eff}=1/2$ spin current can be probed by advanced techniques of spin-current detection in spintronics. This electronic order can emerge spontaneously from the intersite Coulomb interactions between the spatially extended iridium $5d$ orbitals, turning the metallic state into an electron doped quasi-2D Dirac semimetal with important implications on the possible superconducting state suggested by recent experiments.

Longitudinal spin Seebeck effect in a half-metallic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 film

The longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) with a vertical temperature gradient is one of the most important mechanisms to generate pure spin current. Previous studies of the LSSE excited spin current focus mainly on the magnetic insulators, a little on ferromagnetic metals, and rarely on ferromagnetic half metals. In this work, we demonstrate a significant spin current injected from the highly spin polarized ferromagnetic half metal $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ by the LSSE. The sign of the thermal voltage can be reversed by using the spin current detector Cr with a large negative spin Hall angle. The ratio of the inverse spin Hall voltage to the total thermal signal in $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ is much larger than that in ferromagnetic metals, such as permalloy and CoFeB. The nontrivial temperature-dependent voltage suggests that the thermal transport in $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ is carried by magnons. This study provides insight into the mechanism of thermally excited spin current in ferromagnetic half metals and recommends the highly spin polarized $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.7}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ as a promising candidate for metal-based spin caloritronics devices.