Spin accumulation at nonmagnetic interface induced by direct Rashba Edelstein effect

TL;DR

This paper investigates spin accumulation at nonmagnetic metal/oxide interfaces induced by the Rashba Edelstein effect, using X-ray spectroscopy and optical detection to characterize and understand the phenomenon for potential spintronic applications.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed characterization of Rashba interfaces between nonmagnetic metals and oxides, demonstrating spin accumulation generation and detection methods.

Findings

Rashba interface formed between Cu/Ag and Bi2O3 characterized

Electrical current injection induces measurable spin accumulation

Optical Kerr effect detects spin buildup at interfaces

Abstract

Rashba effect describes how electrons moving in an electric field experience a momentum dependent magnetic field that couples to the electron angular momentum (spin). This physical phenomenon permits the generation of spin polarization from charge current (Edelstein effect), which leads to the buildup of spin accumulation. Spin accumulation due to Rashba Edelstein effect has been recently reported to be uniform and oriented in plane, which has been suggested for applications as spin filter device and efficient driving force for magnetization switching. Here, we report the X-ray spectroscopy characterization Rashba interface formed between nonmagnetic metal (Cu, Ag) and oxide (Bi$_{2}$O$_{3}$) at grazing incidence angles. We further discuss the generation of spin accumulation by injection of electrical current at these Rashba interfaces, and its optical detection by time resolved magneto optical Kerr effect. We provide details of our characterization which can be extended to other Rashba type systems beyond those reported here.