Spin Hall effect

TL;DR

The paper discusses the spin Hall effect, proposing that charge currents can generate transverse spin imbalances and vice versa, enabling the generation and detection of spin currents in paramagnetic metals.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of the spin Hall effect and proposes an experiment to generate and detect spin currents without magnetic fields.

Findings

Theoretical basis for spin Hall effect in paramagnetic metals

Proposal of an experimental setup for spin current detection

Potential applications in spintronics

Abstract

It is proposed that when a charge current circulates in a paramagnetic metal a transverse spin imbalance will be generated, giving rise to a 'spin Hall voltage'. Similarly, that when a spin current circulates a transverse charge imbalance will be generated, hence a Hall voltage, in the absence of charge current and magnetic field. Based on these principles we propose an experiment to generate and detect a spin current in a paramagnetic metal.