Temperature dependence of spin diffusion length and spin Hall angle in Au and Pt

TL;DR

This study investigates how temperature affects spin diffusion length and spin Hall angle in platinum and gold, revealing different dominant scattering mechanisms and quantifying phonon-induced skew scattering.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed temperature-dependent analysis of spin transport and spin Hall effect in Au and Pt, distinguishing intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms.

Findings

Intrinsic mechanism dominates in Pt

Extrinsic effects are more relevant in Au

Phonon-induced skew scattering is significant in Au

Abstract

We have studied the spin transport and the spin Hall effect as a function of temperature for platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) in lateral spin valve structures. First, by using the spin absorption technique, we extract the spin diffusion length of Pt and Au. Secondly, using the same devices, we have measured the spin Hall conductivity and analyzed its evolution with temperature to identify the dominant scattering mechanisms behind the spin Hall effect. This analysis confirms that the intrinsic mechanism dominates in Pt whereas extrinsic effects are more relevant in Au. Moreover, we identify and quantify the phonon-induced skew scattering. We show that this contribution to skew scattering becomes relevant in metals such as Au, with a low residual resistivity.