Charge to Spin Conversion in van der Waals Metal NbSe2

TL;DR

This study demonstrates room-temperature charge to spin conversion in NbSe2, a van der Waals metal with strong spin-orbit coupling, using graphene-based spin detection, highlighting potential for spintronic applications.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of electrical spin polarization in NbSe2 at room temperature and explores the underlying mechanisms like spin Hall and Rashba-Edelstein effects.

Findings

Significant charge-spin conversion observed at room temperature.

Enhanced conversion below superconducting transition temperature (~7 K).

Conversion signals depend on bias current and superconducting state.

Abstract

Quantum materials with a large charge current-induced spin polarization are promising for next-generation all-electrical spintronic science and technology. Van der Waals metals with high spin-orbit coupling and novel spin textures have attracted significant attention for an efficient charge to spin conversion process. Here, we demonstrate the electrical generation of spin polarization in NbSe2 up to room temperature. To probe the current-induced spin polarization in NbSe2, we used a graphene-based non-local spin-valve device, where the spin-polarization in NbSe2 is efficiently injected and detected using non-local spin-switch and Hanle spin precession measurements. A significantly higher charge-spin conversion in NbSe2 is observed at a lower temperature, below the superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 7 K of NbSe2. However, the charge-spin conversion signal could only be observed with a higher bias current above the superconducting critical current, limiting the observation of the signal only to the non-superconducting state of NbSe2. Systematic measurements provide the possible origins of the spin polarization to be predominantly due to the spin Hall effect or Rashba-Edelstein effect in NbSe2, considering different symmetry allowed charge-spin conversion processes.