Inverse spin Hall effect in a complex ferromagnetic oxide heterostructure

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a heterostructure of complex ferromagnetic oxides can exhibit the inverse spin Hall effect, revealing new potential for oxide-based spintronic devices and expanding understanding of spin current phenomena.

Contribution

It is the first demonstration of a complex oxide heterostructure acting as a spin sink exhibiting ISHE, especially in La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$/SrRuO$_{3}$.

Findings

SRO acts as a spin sink exhibiting ISHE below its Curie temperature.

ISHE signal persists at low temperatures, indicating robust spin Hall effect in the heterostructure.

Potential for oxide heterostructures in future spintronic applications.

Abstract

Complex oxide heterostructures are hot candidates for post CMOS multi-functional devices. Especially in spintronics applications ferromagnetic oxides may play a key role because they can exhibit extraordinary high spin polarization. Indeed, there are already plenty of examples in spintronics, notably in the area of spin pumping and inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) \cite{Azevedo2011, Czeschka2011, Hahn2013, Obstbaum2014}. Although complex oxides have been used in these experiments as a source of spin currents, they have never been demonstrated to act as a spin sink that exhibits ISHE. Here we show that in a heterostructure consisting of La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ (LSMO) and SrRuO$_{3}$ (SRO) the low temperature ferromagnet SRO can act as a spin sink and exhibit a sizeable ISHE which persists even below its Curie temperature. This result opens up new possibilities for application of all oxide heterostructures in spintronics and may significantly extend the research on spin Hall effect and related phenomena.