Interfacial spintronic THz emission

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that interfacial spin-to-charge conversion in ferromagnet/heavy-metal heterostructures can be efficiently measured using THz emission, revealing significant potential for ultrafast spintronic device applications.

Contribution

It provides the first quantitative assessment of interfacial SCC at FM/HM interfaces using THz emission, highlighting the importance of interface engineering for spintronics.

Findings

Interfacial SCC in NiFe/Ru/NiFe heterostructures is about 27% of Pt.

THz emission effectively measures ultrafast spin-to-charge conversion.

Interfacial engineering enhances spintronic device performance.

Abstract

The broken inversion symmetry at the ferromagnet (FM)/heavy-metal (HM) interface leads to spin-dependent degeneracy of the energy band, forming spin-polarized surface states. As a result, the interface serves as an effective medium for converting spin accumulation into two-dimensional charge current through the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect. Exploring and assessing this spin-to-charge conversion (SCC) phenomenon at the FM/HM interface could offer a promising avenue to surpass the presumed limits of SCC in bulk HM layers. We utilize spintronic heterostructures as a platform to measure the spin-to-charge conversion (SCC) experienced by photoexcited spin currents. These heterostructures emit terahertz electric field when illuminated by femtosecond laser pulses, enabling us to quantitatively assess the ultrafast SCC process. Our results demonstrate a robust interfacial spin-to-charge conversion (iSCC) within a synthetic antiferromagnetic heterostructure, specifically for the NiFe/Ru/NiFe configuration, by isolating the SCC contribution originating from the interface itself, separate from the bulk heavy-metal (HM) region. Moreover, the iSCC at the NiFe/Ru interface is discovered to be approximately 27% of the strength observed in the highest spin-Hall conducting heavy-metal, Pt. Our results thus highlight the significance of interfacial engineering as a promising pathway for achieving efficient ultrafast spintronic devices.