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At least 55 records · Page 3

Spin Seebeck effect in a weak ferromagnet

We report the observation of room temperature spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in a weak ferromagnetic normal spinel Zinc Ferrite (ZFO). Despite the weak ferromagnetic behavior, the measurements of the SSE in ZFO show a thermoelectric voltage response comparable with the reported values for other ferromagnetic materials. Our results suggest that SSE might possibly originate from the surface magnetization of the ZFO.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Surface sensitivity of the spin Seebeck effect

We have investigated the influence of the interface quality on the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) of the bilayer system yttrium iron garnet (YIG)–platinum (Pt). The magnitude and shape of the SSE is strongly influenced by mechanical treatment of the YIG single crystal surface. We observe that the saturation magnetic field (H{sub sat}{sup SSE}) for the SSE signal increases from 55.3 mT to 72.8 mT with mechanical treatment. The change in the magnitude of H{sub sat}{sup SSE} can be attributed to the presence of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy due to the treatment induced surface strain or shape anisotropy in the Pt/YIG system. Our results show that the SSE is a powerful tool to investigate magnetic anisotropy at the interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

The Hall and Seebeck Effects in Bismuth Thin Films on Mica Substrates in the Temperature Range of 77–300 K

The effects of film thickness and block size on the Hall and Seebeck effects in bismuth films on mica substrates are analyzed using experimental data. A preferential decrease in the electron contribution with a decrease in the film thickness and a preferential decrease in the hole contribution with a decrease in the block size are established. The Hall and Seebeck coefficients are calculated using the classical size effect with regard to carrier scattering at block boundaries and anisotropy of the properties of carriers. In the calculation, the electron and hole mobility components and their concentration in a bismuth single crystal are used and the crystallographic orientation of the film crystal are taken into account. The results of the calculation are in good agreement with the experimental data. It is concluded that the value and sign of the Hall and Seebeck coefficients in bismuth films are determined by the competition of the classical size effect and scattering at block boundaries.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Theory of the spin-Seebeck effect at a topological-insulator/ferromagnetic-insulator interface

The spin-Seebeck effect refers to voltage signals induced in metals by thermally driven spin currents in adjacent magnetic systems. We present a theory of the spin-Seebeck signal in the case where the conductor that supports the voltage signal is the topologically protected two-dimensional surface-state system at the interface between a ferromagnetic insulator (FI) and a topological insulator (TI). Our theory uses a Dirac model for the TI surface states and assumes Heisenberg exchange coupling between the TI quasiparticles and the FI magnetization. The spin-Seebeck voltage is induced by the TI surface states scattering off the nonequilibrium magnon population at the surface of the semi-infinite thermally driven FI. Our theory is readily generalized to spin-Seebeck voltages in any two-dimensional conductor that is exchange-coupled to the surface of a FI. Surface-state carrier-density-dependent signal strengths calculated using Bi 2 Te 3 and yttrium iron garnet material parameters are consistent with recent experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Nernst and Seebeck effects in HgTe/CdTe topological insulator

The Seebeck and Nernst effects in HgTe/CdTe quantum wells are studied using the tight-binding Hamiltonian and the nonequilibrium Green's function method. The Seebeck coefficient, S{sub c}, and the Nernst coefficient, N{sub c}, oscillate as a function of E{sub F}, where E{sub F} is the Fermi energy. The Seebeck coefficient shows peaks when the Fermi energy crosses the discrete transverse channels, and the height of the nth peak of the S{sub c} is [ln2/(1/2 +|n|)] for E{sub F} > 0. For the case E{sub F} < 0, the values of the peaks are negative, but the absolute values of the first five peaks are the same as those for E{sub F} > 0. The 6th peak of S{sub c} reaches the value [ln2/1.35] due to a higher density of states. When a magnetic field is applied, the Nernst coefficient appears. However, the values of the peaks for N{sub c} are all positive. For a weak magnetic field, the temperature suppresses the oscillation of the Seebeck and Nernst coefficients but increases their magnitude. For a large magnetic field, because of the highly degenerate Landau levels, the peaks of the Seebeck coefficient at position E{sub F}=−12, 10, 28meV, and Nernst coefficient at E{sub F}=−7, 10meV are robust against the temperature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Joule heating-induced coexisted spin Seebeck effect and spin Hall magnetoresistance in the platinum/Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} structure

Spin Seebeck effect (SSE) and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) are observed simultaneously in the Pt/Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} hybrid structure when thermal gradient is produced by Joule heating. According to their dependences on applied current, these two effects can be separated. Their dependence on heating power and magnetic field is systematically studied. With the increase of heating power, the SSE enhances linearly, whereas the SMR decreases slowly. The origin of the spin currents is further analyzed. The heating power dependences of the spin currents associated with the SSE and the SMR are found to be different.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhancement of spin-Seebeck effect by inserting ultra-thin Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} interlayer

We report the longitudinal spin-Seebeck effects (LSSEs) for Pt/Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30}/BiY{sub 2}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} (BiYIG) and Pt/BiYIG devices. The LSSE voltage was found to be enhanced by inserting an ultra-thin Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} interlayer. This enhancement decays sharply with increasing the Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} thickness, suggesting that it is not due to bulk phenomena, such as a superposition of conventional thermoelectric effects, but due to interface effects related to the Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} interlayer. Combined with control experiments using Pt/Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30} devices, we conclude that the enhancement of the LSSE voltage in the Pt/Fe{sub 70}Cu{sub 30}/BiYIG devices is attributed to the improvement of the spin-mixing conductance at the Pt/BiYIG interfaces.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Surface magnetic anisotropy-mediated spin Hall magnetoresistance and spin Seebeck effects in a YIG/Pt heterostructure

The role of magnon-phonon coupling in the low-temperature behavior of the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in YIG/Pt has been puzzling for more than a decade. Here, to elucidate the origin of the anomalous peak around 80 K, we investigate the temperature evolution of SSE, spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR), and magnetic anisotropy in the same YIG/Pt heterostructure. We find that these effects, along with magnetic damping, show the peaks at the same temperature (~80 K). This simultaneous occurrence, where no heat is applied in the case of SMR, rules out the phonon-magnon drag related origin of SSE in the YIG/Pt system. We further show that the intrinsic surface anisotropy behavior in YIG is responsible for controlling the SSE, SMR, and magnetic damping in the YIG/Pt structure. Our findings not only help to understand these effects fundamentally but also provide an effective way for improving them by manipulating the surface magnetic anisotropy for spin caloritronic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin-orbit coupling induced robust spin-Seebeck effect and pure thermal spin currents in achiral molecule systems

Spin-Seebeck effect (SSE) is an effective route to realize pure spin current by using spin-polarized electrons or spin-wave transport in magnetic systems. In this work we propose a route, i.e., by using spin-orbit coupling (SOC), to achieve robust SSE characterized by pure thermal spin current. The material examples are constructed on achiral nanotubes, and the theoretical results reveal that (i) as temperature gradient is applied along the nanotubes, thermal spin-up and spin-down currents with opposite flow directions are produced without any accompanying charge current, (ii) the SSE is robust against decoherence and nonuniform interchain SOC, (iii) the thermal spin currents display a multioscillation feature with increasing device temperatures, supporting their potential device applications in thermal spin-current multiswitcher, and (vi) strain engineering in the radical direction of nanotubes is an effective way to improve SSE and to control pure thermal spin current. These inspiring spin transport behaviors in achiral molecular systems put forward a mechanism to realize the robust SSE characterized by pure spin current and develop the research field of spin-orbito-caloritronics, which focuses on the interplay of electrons’ spin and orbital degrees of freedom in the presence of temperature gradient.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Observation of Vector Spin Seebeck Effect in a Noncollinear Antiferromagnet

Spintronic phenomena to date have been established in magnets with collinear moments, where the spin injection through the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) is always along the out-of-plane direction. Here, we report the observation of a vector SSE in a noncollinear antiferromagnet (AF) LuFeO 3 , where temperature gradient along the out-of-plane and also the in-plane directions can both inject a pure spin current and generate a voltage in the heavy metal via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). We show that the thermovoltages are due to the magnetization from canted spins in LuFeO 3 . Furthermore, in contrast to the challenges of generating, manipulating, and detecting spin current in collinear AFs, the vector SSE in LuFeO 3 is readily viable in zero magnetic field and can be controlled by a small magnetic field of about 150 Oe at room temperature. Furthermore, the noncollinear AFs expand new realms for exploring spin phenomena and provide a new route to low-field antiferromagnetic spin caloritronics and magnonics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Vector spin Seebeck effect and spin swapping effect in antiferromagnetic insulators with non-collinear spin structure

Antiferromagnets (AFs) are prospective for next-generation high-density and high-speed spintronic applications due to their negligible stray field and ultrafast spin dynamics, notwithstanding the challenges in detecting and manipulating AF order with no magnetization (M = 0). Among the AFs, non-collinear AFs are of particular interest because of their unique properties arising from the non-collinear spin structure and the small magnetization M. In this work, we describe the recently observed vector spin Seebeck effect in non-collinear LuFeO 3 , where the magneto-thermovoltage under an in-plane temperature gradient, not previously observed, is consistent with the predicted spin swapping effect. Our results shed light on the importance of the non-collinear spin structure in the emerging spin phenomena in non-collinear AFs and offer a new class of materials for AF spintronics and spin caloritronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin Seebeck effect in insulating SrFeO 3–δ films

In SrFeO 3–δ , noncollinear antiferromagnetic spin textures have led to the observation of the topological Hall effect and may give rise to novel magnetic excitations. Here, we measured the spin Seebeck effect in epitaxial, oxygen reduced SrFeO 3–δ films, which are nonferromagnetic and insulating at low temperatures. Here, we detected a spin Seebeck signal below 300K and the signal is enhanced below approximate to 100K, near the ordering temperature of incommensurate antiferromagnetism found in bulk single crystals of SrFeO 3–δ . The spin Seebeck signal increases in magnitude and develops a nonlinear dependence on the magnetic field at lower temperatures. Control experiments were used to verify that the measured signal arises from a spin current and to rule out magnetic proximity effects. Our work shows a detectable spin Seebeck signal in nonferromagnetic insulator SrFeO 3–δ .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Broadband Optical Detection Using the Spin Seebeck Effect

The generation, control, and detection of spin currents in solid-state devices are critical for Joule-heating minimization, spin-based computation, and electrical-energy generation from thermal gradients. Although incorporation of spin functionality into technologically important architectures is still in its infancy, advantages over all-electric devices are increasingly becoming clear. Here, we utilize the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in Pt/Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 devices to detect light from 390 to 2200 nm. We find that the device responsivity is remarkably flat across this technologically important wavelength range, closely following the Pt absorption coefficient. As expected from a SSE-generation mechanism, we observe that the photovoltage and Pt heating dynamics are in strong agreement. To precisely determine the optically created thermal gradient produced from a pointlike heat source, we introduce a field-modulation method for measuring the SSE. Furthermore, our results show that broadband optical detection can be performed with devices based solely on spin-current generation and detection.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin Seebeck effect at low temperatures in the nominally paramagnetic insulating state of vanadium dioxide

The low temperature monoclinic, insulating phase of vanadium dioxide is ordinarily considered nonmagnetic, with dimerized vanadium atoms forming spin singlets, though paramagnetic response is seen at low temperatures. Here, we find a nonlocal spin Seebeck signal in VO 2 films that appears below 30 K and that increases with a decrease in temperature. The spin Seebeck response has a nonhysteretic dependence on the in-plane external magnetic field. This paramagnetic spin Seebeck response is discussed in terms of prior findings on paramagnetic spin Seebeck effects and expected magnetic excitations of the monoclinic ground state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhanced room-temperature spin Seebeck effect in a YIG/C 60 /Pt layered heterostructure

We report on large enhancement of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in the Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG)/Pt system at room temperature due to the addition of a thin layer of organic semiconductor (C 60 ) in between the YIG and the Pt. LSSE measurements show that the LSSE voltage increases significantly, from the initial value of 150 nV for the YIG/Pt structure to 240 nV for the YIG/C 60 (5nm)/Pt structure. Radio-frequency transverse susceptibility experiments reveal a significant decrease in the surface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of the YIG film when C 60 is deposited on it. These results suggest that the LSSE enhancement may be attributed to increased spin mixing conductance, the decreased PMA, and the large spin diffusion length of C 60 .

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Spin Seebeck Effect from Antiferromagnetic Magnons and Critical Spin Fluctuations in Epitaxial FeF 2 Films

We report a longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (SSE) study in epitaxially grown FeF 2 (110) antiferromagnetic (AFM) thin films with strong uniaxial anisotropy over the temperature range of 3.8–250 K. Both the magnetic-field and temperature-dependent SSE signals below the Néel temperature (T N = 70 K) of the FeF 2 films are consistent with a theoretical model based on the excitations of AFM magnons without any net induced static magnetic moment. In addition to the characteristic low-temperature SSE peak associated with the AFM magnons, there is another SSE peak at T N which extends well into the paramagnetic phase. All the SSE data taken at different magnetic fields up to 12 T near and above the critical point T N follow the critical scaling law very well with the critical exponents for magnetic susceptibility of 3D Ising systems, which suggests that the AFM spin correlation is responsible for the observed SSE near T N .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

How to realize the spin-Seebeck effect with a high spin figure of merit in magnetic boron–nitrogen nanoribbon and nanotube structures?

The spin-Seebeck effect (SSE) has been regarded as one of the core topics in spin caloritronics. To realize the SSE together with high spin thermoelectric conversion efficiency (TCE), two nanoscale structures referred to as nanoribbons and nanotubes have long been regarded as potential candidates. To illustrate their advantages to the above end, we construct magnetic boron–nitrogen nanoribbons (BNNRs) and nanotubes (BNNTs) by substituting some B atoms with carbon, and the BNNTs can be rolled from the BNNRs. To unify the magnetism origins, the edge magnetisms in BNNRs are cancelled by hydrogen passivation. Our theoretical results show that although these two different structures display similar spin semiconducting states, the BNNRs have lower lattice thermal conductance due to the phonon scattering at edges, contributing to the enhancement of the spin figure of merit; while the BNNTs can generate a better SSE and larger spin thermopower, due to the rotational symmetry. Moreover, we remove the hydrogen passivation from the BNNRs to construct another typical class of magnetic BNNRs, the electronic state which is changed to a magnetic metallic one, which suppresses the spin thermopower and the SSE largely. Systematic and comparative studies help us to choose feasible routes to improve and design the SSE with a high spin figure of merit in nanoscale structures, and give us deep understanding into the device applications of spin caloritronics based on nanoribbon and nanotube materials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

High spin-filter efficiency and Seebeck effect through spin-crossover iron–benzene complex

Electronic structures and coherent quantum transport properties are explored for spin-crossover molecule iron-benzene Fe(Bz){sub 2} using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green’s function. High- and low-spin states are investigated for two different lead-molecule junctions. It is found that the asymmetrical T-shaped contact junction in the high-spin state behaves as an efficient spin filter while it has a smaller conductivity than that in the low-spin state. Large spin Seebeck effect is also observed in asymmetrical T-shaped junction. Spin-polarized properties are absent in the symmetrical H-shaped junction. These findings strongly suggest that both the electronic and contact configurations play significant roles in molecular devices and metal-benzene complexes are promising materials for spintronics and thermo-spintronics.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗