Spin current transport in hybrid Pt / multifunctional magnetoelectric Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 bilayers

TL;DR

This study investigates spin current transfer in Pt/Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 heterostructures, demonstrating dominant spin Hall magnetoresistance and potential for electric-field control of spin currents in oxide-based spintronics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of spin current transfer and magnetoresistance mechanisms in Pt/Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 heterostructures, highlighting the dominance of SMR at room temperature.

Findings

SMR is the dominant magnetoresistance effect at all temperatures.

The magnitude of SMR is comparable to that in well-known heterostructures.

GFO thin films show promise for electric-field control of spin currents.

Abstract

The low power manipulation of magnetization is currently a highly sought-after objective in spintronics. Non ferromagnetic large spin-orbit coupling heavy metal (NM) / ferromagnet (FM) heterostructures offer interesting elements of response to this issue, by granting the manipulation of the FM magnetization by the NM spin Hall effect (SHE) generated spin current. Additional functionalities, such as the electric field control of the spin current generation, can be offered using multifunctional ferromagnets. We have studied the spin current transfer processes between Pt and the multifunctional magnetoelectric Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 (GFO). In particular, via angular dependent magnetotransport measurements, we were able to differentiate between magnetic proximity effect (MPE)-induced anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Our analysis shows that SMR is the dominant phenomenon at all temperatures and is the only one to be considered near room temperature, with a magnitude comparable to those observed in Pd/YIG or Pt/YIG heterostructures. These results indicate that magnetoelectric GFO thin films show promises for achieving an electric-field control of the spin current generation in NM/FM oxide-based heterostructures.