Spin Injection and Nonlocal Spin Transport in Magnetic Nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of nonlocal spin transport in magnetic nanostructures, exploring effects of interface resistance, superconductivity, and spin Hall phenomena to enhance understanding of spin injection and transport mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized theoretical framework for spin transport in devices with various interface resistances and includes the impact of superconductivity and spin Hall effects.

Findings

Conditions for efficient spin injection and transport are derived.

Superconductivity influences spin transport properties.

Spin Hall effect can be induced by spin currents in nonmagnetic metals.

Abstract

We theoretically study the nonlocal spin transport in a device consisting of a nonmagnetic metal (N) and ferromagnetic injector (F1) and detector (F2) electrodes connected to N. We solve the spin-dependent transport equations in a device with arbitrary interface resistance from a metallic-contact to tunneling regime, and obtain the conditions for efficient spin injection, accumulation, and transport in the device. In a device containing a superconductor (F1/S/F2), the effect of superconductivity on the spin transport is investigated. The spin-current induced spin Hall effect in nonmagnetic metals is also discussed.