Spin-to-charge conversion in lateral and vertical topological-insulator/ferromagnet heterostructures with microwave-driven precessing magnetization

TL;DR

This paper investigates spin-to-charge conversion in topological insulator/ferromagnet heterostructures driven by microwave precession, revealing high efficiency at interfaces with strong spin-momentum locking and analyzing vertical and lateral current injection.

Contribution

It introduces a Floquet-Green function approach to quantify spin-to-charge conversion efficiency in TI/FM heterostructures, highlighting the impact of interface properties and Dirac fermion mass.

Findings

High conversion efficiency (40-60%) at F/TI interfaces due to spin-momentum locking.

Lateral spin-to-charge conversion is more efficient than vertical injection.

Charge current sensitivity to whether Dirac fermions are massive or massless.

Abstract

Using the charge-conserving Floquet-Green function approach to open quantum systems driven by external time periodic potential, we analyze how spin current pumped (in the absence of any dc bias voltage) by the precessing magnetization of a ferromagnetic (F) layer is injected {\em laterally} into the interface with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and converted into charge current flowing in the same direction. In the case of metallic interface with the Rashba SOC used in experiments [Nature Comm. {\bf 4}, 2944 (2013)], both spin $I^{S_\alpha}$ and charge $I$ current flow within it where $I/I^{S_\alpha} \simeq$ 2--8\% (depending on the precession cone angle), while for F/topological-insulator (F/TI) interface employed in related experiments (arXiv:1312.7091) the conversion efficiency is greatly enhanced $I/I^{S_\alpha} \simeq$ 40--60\% due to perfect spin-momentum locking on the surface of TI. The spin-to-charge conversion occurs also when spin current is pumped {\em vertically} through the F/TI interface with smaller efficiency $I/I^{S_\alpha} \sim 0.001\%$, but with charge current signal being sensitive to whether the Dirac fermions at the interface are massive or massless.