Nonlocal Electronic Spin Detection, Spin Accumulation and the Spin Hall effect

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent experimental techniques and progress in electrical spin injection, detection, and related phenomena like the spin Hall effect across various materials, highlighting advances in spintronics applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of experimental methods and key results in spin injection, accumulation, and detection, emphasizing technological implications and recent breakthroughs.

Findings

Characterization of spin diffusion and precession in metals, semiconductors, and graphene

Determination of spin polarization of tunneling electrons as a function of bias

Implementation of magnetization reversal using pure spin currents

Abstract

In recent years, electrical spin injection and detection has grown into a lively area of research in the field of spintronics. Spin injection into a paramagnetic material is usually achieved by means of a ferromagnetic source, whereas the induced spin accumulation or associated spin currents are detected by means of a second ferromagnet or the reciprocal spin Hall effect, respectively. This article reviews the current status of this subject, describing both recent progress and well-established results. The emphasis is on experimental techniques and accomplishments that brought about important advances in spin phenomena and possible technological applications. These advances include, amongst others, the characterization of spin diffusion and precession in a variety of materials, such as metals, semiconductors and graphene, the determination of the spin polarization of tunneling electrons as a function of the bias voltage, and the implementation of magnetization reversal in nanoscale ferromagnetic particles with pure spin currents.