Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$

Exploring new strategies to perform magnon logic is a key requirement for the further development of magnon-based spintronics. In this work, we realize a three-terminal magnon transport device to study the possibility of manipulating magnonic spin information transfer in a magnetic insulator via localized magnetic fields and heat generation. The device comprises two parallel Pt wires as well as a Cu center wire that are deposited on the ferrimagnetic insulator Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$. While the Pt wires act as spin current injector and detector, the Cu wire is used to create local magnetostatic fields and additional heat, which impact both the magnetic configuration and the magnons within t…

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co 60 Fe 20 B 20

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 de…

Tunable long-distance spin transport in a crystalline antiferromagnetic iron oxide.

Spintronics relies on the transport of spins, the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, as an alternative to the transport of electron charge as in conventional electronics. The long-term goal of spintronics research is to develop spin-based, low-dissipation computing-technology devices. Recently, long-distance transport of a spin current was demonstrated across ferromagnetic insulators1. However, antiferromagnetically ordered materials, the most common class of magnetic materials, have several crucial advantages over ferromagnetic systems for spintronics applications2: antiferromagnets have no net magnetic moment, making them stable and impervious to external fields, and can be operated…

Influence of thickness and interface on the low-temperature enhancement of the spin Seebeck effect in YIG films

The temperature-dependent longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in heavy metal (HM)/Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} (YIG) hybrid structures is investigated as a function of YIG film thickness, magnetic field strength, and different HM detection materials. The LSSE signal shows a large enhancement with reductions in temperature, leading to a pronounced peak at low temperatures. We find that the LSSE peak temperature strongly depends on the film thickness as well as on the magnetic field. Our result can be well explained in the framework of magnon-driven LSSE by taking into account the temperature-dependent effective propagation length of thermally excited magnons in the bulk of the material. We further …

Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y3Fe5O12

Exploring new strategies to perform magnon logic is a key requirement for the further development of magnon-based spintronics. In this paper, we realize a three-terminal magnon transport device to study the possibility of manipulating magnonic spin information transfer in a magnetic insulator via localized magnetic fields and heat generation. The device comprises two parallel Pt wires as well as a Cu center wire that are deposited on the ferrimagnetic insulator ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$. While the Pt wires act as spin current injector and detector, the Cu wire is used to create local magnetostatic fields and additional heat, which impact both the magnetic configur…

Faster chiral versus collinear magnetic order recovery after optical excitation revealed by femtosecond XUV scattering

While chiral spin structures stabilized by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) are candidates as novel information carriers, their dynamics on the fs-ps timescale is little known. Since with the bulk Heisenberg exchange and the interfacial DMI two distinct exchange mechanisms are at play, the ultra-fast dynamics of the chiral order needs to be ascertained and compared to the dynamics of the conventional collinear order. Using an XUV free-electron laser we determine the fs-ps temporal evolution of the chiral order in domain walls in a magnetic thin film sample by an IR pump - X-ray magnetic scattering probe experiment. Upon demagnetisation we observe that the dichroic (CL-CR) signal conn…

Ferroic collinear multilayer magnon 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 as well as the reduced spin wave damping in insulating ferromagnets has been suggested to enable the implementation of efficient logic devices. After the proof of concept for a logic majority gate based on the superposition of spin waves has been successfully demonstrated, further components are required to perform complex logic operations. A key component is a switch that corresponds to a conventional magnetoresistive spin valve. Here, we report on magnetization orientation dependent spin signal d…

Terahertz Spin‐to‐Charge Conversion by Interfacial Skew Scattering in Metallic Bilayers

The efficient conversion of spin to charge transport and vice versa is of major relevance for the detection and generation of spin currents in spin‐based electronics. Interfaces of heterostructures are known to have a marked impact on this process. Here, terahertz (THz) emission spectroscopy is used to study ultrafast spin‐to‐charge‐current conversion (S2C) in about 50 prototypical F|N bilayers consisting of a ferromagnetic layer F (e.g., Ni81Fe19, Co, or Fe) and a nonmagnetic layer N with strong (Pt) or weak (Cu and Al) spin‐orbit coupling. Varying the structure of the F/N interface leads to a drastic change in the amplitude and even inversion of the polarity of the THz charge current. Rem…

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co60Fe20B20

The spin Hall effect is a key element of various spintronics applications. Here, the authors study the orientation-dependent interconversion of spin and charge information in Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$. In a nonlocal magnon transport using Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ as a spin conduit, the spin Hall effect amplitude depends on the relative alignment between the Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ and Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$ magnetization vectors. In order to suppress direct magnonic contributions so as to study the electronic origin of this effect, Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ and Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$ are exchange-decoupled by a Cu interlayer.

Length Scale of the Spin Seebeck Effect

We investigate the origin of the spin Seebeck effect in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples for film thicknesses from 20 nm to 50  μm at room temperature and 50 K. Our results reveal a characteristic increase of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect amplitude with the thickness of the insulating ferrimagnetic YIG, which levels off at a critical thickness that increases with decreasing temperature. The observed behavior cannot be explained as an interface effect or by variations of the material parameters. Comparison to numerical simulations of thermal magnonic spin currents yields qualitative agreement for the thickness dependence resulting from the finite magnon propagation length. This allow…

Temperature dependence of the non-local spin Seebeck effect in YIG/Pt nanostructures

We study the transport of thermally excited non-equilibrium magnons through the ferrimagnetic insulator YIG using two electrically isolated Pt strips as injector and detector. The diffusing magnons induce a non-local inverse spin Hall voltage in the detector corresponding to the so-called non-local spin Seebeck effect (SSE). We measure the non-local SSE as a function of temperature and strip separation. In experiments at room temperature we observe a sign change of the non-local SSE voltage at a characteristic strip separation d0, in agreement with previous investigations. At lower temperatures however, we find a strong temperature dependence of d0. This suggests that both the angular momen…

Complex Terahertz and Direct Current Inverse Spin Hall Effect in YIG/Cu1-xIrx Bilayers Across a Wide Concentration Range

We measure the inverse spin Hall effect of Cu1-xIrx thin films on yttrium iron garnet over a wide range of Ir concentrations (0.05 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.7). Spin currents are triggered through the spin Seebeck effect, either by a continuous (dc) temperature gradient or by ultrafast optical heating of the metal layer. The spin Hall current is detected by electrical contacts or measurement of the emitted terahertz radiation. With both approaches, we reveal the same Ir concentration dependence that follows a novel complex, nonmonotonous behavior as compared to previous studies. For small Ir concentrations a signal minimum is observed, whereas a pronounced maximum appears near the equiatomic composition. We …

Magnon mode selective spin transport in compensated ferrimagnets

We investigate the generation of magnonic thermal spin currents and their mode selective spin transport across interfaces in insulating, compensated ferrimagnet/normal metal bilayer systems. The spin Seebeck effect signal exhibits a non-monotonic temperature dependence with two sign changes of the detected voltage signals. Using different ferrimagnetic garnets, we demonstrate the universality of the observed complex temperature dependence of the spin Seebeck effect. To understand its origin, we systematically vary the interface between the ferrimagnetic garnet and the metallic layer, and by using different metal layers we establish that interface effects play a dominating role. They do not …

Spin Hall magnetoresistance in the non-collinear ferrimagnet GdIG close to the compensation temperature

We investigate the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a gadolinium iron garnet (GdIG)/platinum (Pt) heterostructure by angular dependent magnetoresistance measurements. The magnetic structure of the ferromagnetic insulator GdIG is non-collinear near the compensation temperature, while it is collinear far from the compensation temperature. In the collinear regime, the SMR signal in GdIG is consistent with the usual [Formula: see text] relation well established in the collinear magnet yttrium iron garnet, with [Formula: see text] the angle between magnetization and spin Hall spin polarization direction. In the non-collinear regime, both an SMR signal with inverted sign and a more complex an…

Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y 3 Fe 5 O 12

Spin transport in multilayer systems with fully epitaxial NiO thin films

We report the generation and transport of thermal spin currents in fully epitaxial $\ensuremath{\gamma}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}/\mathrm{NiO}(001)/\mathrm{Pt}$ and $\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}/\mathrm{NiO}(001)/\mathrm{Pt}$ trilayers. A thermal gradient, perpendicular to the plane of the sample, generates a magnonic spin current in the ferrimagnetic maghemite $(\ensuremath{\gamma}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3})$ and magnetite $(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4})$ thin films by means of the spin Seebeck effect. The spin current propagates across the epitaxial, antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer…

Full angular dependence of the spin Hall and ordinary magnetoresistance in epitaxial antiferromagnetic NiO(001)/Pt thin films

We report the observation of the three-dimensional angular dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a bilayer of the epitaxial antiferromagnetic insulator NiO(001) and the heavy metal Pt, without any ferromagnetic element. The detected angular-dependent longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistances are measured by rotating the sample in magnetic fields up to 11 T, along three orthogonal planes (xy-, yz- and xz-rotation planes, where the z-axis is orthogonal to the sample plane). The total magnetoresistance has contributions arising from both the SMR and ordinary magnetoresistance. The onset of the SMR signal occurs between 1 and 3 T and no saturation is visible up to 11 T. Th…

Antiferromagnetic NiO thickness dependent sign of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in γ-Fe2O3/NiO/Pt epitaxial stacks

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial γ–Fe2O3/NiO(001)/Pt stacks, as a function of temperature and thickness of the antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer. Upon increasing the thickness of NiO from 0 nm to 10 nm, we detect a sign change of the SMR in the temperature range between 10 K and 280 K. This temperature dependence of the SMR in our stacks is different compared to that of previously studied yttrium iron garnet/NiO/Pt, as we do not find any peak or sign change as a function of temperature. We explain our data by a combination of spin current reflection from both the NiO/Pt and γ-Fe2O3/NiO interfaces and the thickness-dependent exchange coupling mode between the …

Spin transport across antiferromagnets induced by the spin Seebeck effect

For prospective spintronics devices based on the propagation of pure spin currents, antiferromagnets are an interesting class of materials that potentially entail a number of advantages as compared to ferromagnets. Here, we present a detailed theoretical study of magnonic spin current transport in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic multilayers by using atomistic spin dynamics simulations. The relevant length scales of magnonic spin transport in antiferromagnets are determined. We demonstrate the transfer of angular momentum from a ferromagnet into an antiferromagnet due to the excitation of only one magnon branch in the antiferromagnet. As an experimental system, we ascertain the transport acr…

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co60Fe20B20

Antiferromagnetic NiO thickness dependent sign of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in γ-Fe 2 O 3 /NiO/Pt epitaxial stacks

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial γ–Fe2O3/NiO(001)/Pt stacks, as a function of temperature and thickness of the antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer. Upon increasing the thickness of NiO from 0 nm to 10 nm, we detect a sign change of the SMR in the temperature range between 10 K and 280 K. This temperature dependence of the SMR in our stacks is different compared to that of previously studied yttrium iron garnet/NiO/Pt, as we do not find any peak or sign change as a function of temperature. We explain our data by a combination of spin current reflection from both the NiO/Pt and γ-Fe2O3/NiO interfaces and the thickness-dependent exchange coupling mode between the …

Thermal generation of spin current in epitaxial CoFe2O4 thin films

The longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) has been investigated in high-quality epitaxial CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin films. The thermally excited spin currents in the CFO films are electrically detected in adjacent Pt layers due to the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). The LSSE signal exhibits a linear increase with increasing temperature gradient, yielding a LSSE coefficient of ~100 nV/K at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the LSSE is investigated from room temperature down to 30 K, showing a significant reduction at low temperatures, revealing that the total amount of thermally generated magnons decreases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the spin Seebeck effect is an effective to…

Impact of Annealing Temperature on Tunneling Magnetoresistance Multilayer Stacks

The effect of annealing temperatures on the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) has been investigated for annealing between 190 and 370°C. The TMR shows a maximum value of 215% at an annealing temperature of 330°C. A strong sensitivity of the TMR and the exchange bias of the pinned ferromagnetic layers on the annealing temperature are observed. Depending on sensor application requirements, the MTJ can be optimized either for stability and pinning strength or for a high TMR signal by choosing the appropriate annealing temperature. The switching mechanism of the ferromagnetic layers in the MTJ and the influence of the annealing on the layer properties,…

Femtosecond formation dynamics of the spin Seebeck effect revealed by terahertz spectroscopy

Understanding the transfer of spin angular momentum is essential in modern magnetism research. A model case is the generation of magnons in magnetic insulators by heating an adjacent metal film. Here, we reveal the initial steps of this spin Seebeck effect with <27fs time resolution using terahertz spectroscopy on bilayers of ferrimagnetic yttrium-iron garnet and platinum. Upon exciting the metal with an infrared laser pulse, a spin Seebeck current $j_\textrm{s}$ arises on the same ~100fs time scale on which the metal electrons thermalize. This observation highlights that efficient spin transfer critically relies on carrier multiplication and is driven by conduction electrons scattering …

Unidirectional Spin Hall Magnetoresistance as a Tool for Probing the Interfacial Spin Polarization of Co2MnSi

Materials with high spin polarization, such as Heusler compounds, are required for efficient spintronics. The authors propose an approach to probe the transport spin polarization at interfaces, using the recently discovered unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance. They show that insertion of thin Ag(001) layers clearly increases the interfacial spin polarization of the Heusler compound Co${}_{2}$MnSi, which is crucial for giant-magnetoresistance devices.