Realization of a Room-Temperature Spin Dynamo: The Spin Rectification Effect

TL;DR

This paper reports the first room-temperature spin dynamo that uses spin rectification to generate significant direct currents from microwave-driven electron spin precession in ferromagnets, surpassing previous semiconductor results.

Contribution

It demonstrates a novel room-temperature spin dynamo utilizing spin rectification, with a large current/power ratio and detailed explanation of the underlying symmetry and bipolar nature.

Findings

D.C. currents generated at room temperature via spin rectification

Current/power ratio exceeds previous semiconductor spin-driven currents by three orders of magnitude

Bipolar nature and symmetry explained by nonlinear spin-charge dynamics

Abstract

We demonstrate a room temperature spin dynamo where the precession of electron spins in ferromagnets driven by microwaves manifests itself in a collective way by generating d.c. currents. The current/power ratio is at least three orders of magnitude larger than that found previously for spin-driven currents in semiconductors. The observed bipolar nature and intriguing symmetry are fully explained by the spin rectification effect via which the nonlinear combination of spin and charge dynamics creates d.c. currents.