Metallic spintronic nanofilm as a hydrogen sensor

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that palladium-cobalt bi-layer thin films can serve as effective hydrogen sensors by detecting shifts in ferromagnetic resonance caused by hydrogen absorption, with potential applications in spintronic sensing technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hydrogen sensing method using ferromagnetic resonance shifts in palladium-cobalt bi-layer thin films, highlighting their potential in spintronic sensor applications.

Findings

Hydrogen absorption narrows and shifts the ferromagnetic resonance line.

The resonance shift is due to reduced spin pumping and magnetic anisotropy changes.

The resonance shift can be reliably used for hydrogen detection.

Abstract

We investigate the response of palladium-cobalt bi-layer thin films to hydrogen charging at atmospheric pressure for spintronic applications. We find that hydrogen absorption by the palladium layer results in the narrowing and shifting of the ferromagnetic resonance line for the material. We explain the observed phenomena as originating from reduction in spin pumping effect and from variation in the magnetic anisotropy of the cobalt film through an interface effect. The shift of the resonance frequency or field is the easiest to detect. We utilize it to demonstrate functionality of the bi-layer films as a hydrogen sensor.