1301.3266 (N. Vlietstra et al.)

Spin-Hall Magnetoresistance in Platinum on Yttrium Iron Garnet:
Dependence on platinum thickness and in-plane/out-of-plane magnetization    [PDF]

N. Vlietstra, J. Shan, V. Castel, J. Ben Youssef, B. J. van Wees

The occurrence of Spin-Hall Magnetoresistance (SMR) in platinum (Pt) on top of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) has been investigated, for both in-plane and out-of-plane applied magnetic fields and for different Pt thicknesses [3, 4, 8 and 35nm]. Our experiments show that the SMR signal directly depends on the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization directions of the YIG. This confirms the theoretical description, where the SMR occurs due to the interplay of spin-orbit interaction in the Pt and spin-mixing at the YIG/Pt interface. Additionally, the sensitivity of the SMR and spin pumping signals on the YIG/Pt interface conditions is shown by comparing two different deposition techniques (e-beam evaporation and dc sputtering).

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.3266