Short-range charge-order in RRNiO3_{3} perovskites (RR=Pr,Nd,Eu) probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

The short-range organization around Ni atoms in orthorhombic $R$NiO$_{3}$ ($R$=Pr,Nd,Eu) perovskites has been studied over a wide temperature range by Ni K-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate that two different Ni sites, with different average Ni-O bond lengths, coexist in those orthorhombic compounds and that important modifications in the Ni nearest neighbors environment take place across the metal-insulator transition. We report evidences for the existence of short-range charge-order in the insulating state, as found in the monoclinic compounds. Moreover, our results suggest that the two different Ni sites coexists even in the metallic state. The coexistence of two different Ni sites, independently on the $R$ ion, provides a common ground to describe these compounds and shed new light in the understanding of the phonon-assisted conduction mechanism and unusual antiferromagnetism present in all $R$NiO$_{3}$ compounds.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted PRB - Brief Report Dec.200

Electrical and thermal spin accumulation in germanium

In this letter, we first show electrical spin injection in the germanium conduction band at room temperature and modulate the spin signal by applying a gate voltage to the channel. The corresponding signal modulation agrees well with the predictions of spin diffusion models. Then by setting a temperature gradient between germanium and the ferromagnet, we create a thermal spin accumulation in germanium without any tunnel charge current. We show that temperature gradients yield larger spin accumulations than pure electrical spin injection but, due to competing microscopic effects, the thermal spin accumulation in germanium remains surprisingly almost unchanged under the application of a gate voltage to the channel.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Electrical spin injection and detection in Germanium using three terminal geometry

In this letter, we report on successful electrical spin injection and detection in \textit{n}-type germanium-on-insulator (GOI) using a Co/Py/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ spin injector and 3-terminal non-local measurements. We observe an enhanced spin accumulation signal of the order of 1 meV consistent with the sequential tunneling process via interface states in the vicinity of the Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$/Ge interface. This spin signal is further observable up to 220 K. Moreover, the presence of a strong \textit{inverted} Hanle effect points at the influence of random fields arising from interface roughness on the injected spins.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Crossover from spin accumulation into interface states to spin injection in the germanium conduction band

Electrical spin injection into semiconductors paves the way for exploring new phenomena in the area of spin physics and new generations of spintronic devices. However the exact role of interface states in spin injection mechanism from a magnetic tunnel junction into a semiconductor is still under debate. In this letter, we demonstrate a clear transition from spin accumulation into interface states to spin injection in the conduction band of $n$-Ge. We observe spin signal amplification at low temperature due to spin accumulation into interface states followed by a clear transition towards spin injection in the conduction band from 200 K up to room temperature. In this regime, the spin signal is reduced down to a value compatible with spin diffusion model. More interestingly, we demonstrate in this regime a significant modulation of the spin signal by spin pumping generated by ferromagnetic resonance and also by applying a back-gate voltage which are clear manifestations of spin current and accumulation in the germanium conduction band.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Unconventional anomalous Hall effect in 3d/5d multilayers mediated by the nonlocal spin-conductivity

We evidenced unconventionnal Anomalous Hall Effects (AHE) in 3d/5d (Co0.2nm/Ni0.6nm)N multilayers grown on a thin Pt layer or thin Au:W alloy. The inversion observed on AHE originates from the opposite sign of the spin-orbit coupling of Pt compared to Ni. Via advanced simulations methods for the description of the spin-current profiles based on the spin-dependent Boltzmann formalism, we extracted the spin Hall angle (SHA) of Pt and (Co/Ni) as well as the relevant transport parameters. The extracted SHA for Pt, +20%, is opposite to the one of (Co/Ni), giving rise to an effective AHE inversion for thin (Co/Ni) multilayers (N < 17). The spin Hall angle in Pt is found to be larger than the one previously measured in combined spin-pumping inverse spin-Hall effect experiments in a geometry of current perpendicular to plane. Whereas magnetic proximity effects cannot explain the effect, spin-current leakage and anisotropic electron scattering at Pt/(Co,Ni) interfaces fit the experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Quantifying orbital Rashba effect via harmonic Hall torque measurements in transition-metal|Cu|Oxide structures

Spin-orbit interaction (SOI) plays a pivotal role in the charge-to-spin conversion mechanisms, notably the spin Hall effect involving spin-dependent deflection of conduction electrons and the interfacial spin Rashba-Edelstein effect. In recent developments, significant current-induced torques have been predicted and observed in material systems featuring interfaces with light elements \textit{i.e.} possessing a weak SOI. These findings challenge existing mechanisms and point to the potential involvement of the orbital counterpart of electrons, namely the orbital Hall and orbital Rashba effects. Here, we establish, in Pt|Co|Cu|AlOx stacking, the comparable strength between the orbital Rashba effect at the Cu|AlOx interface and the effective spin Hall effect in Pt|Co. Subsequently, we investigate the thickness dependence of an intermediate Pt layer in Co|Pt|Cu|CuOx, revealing the strong signature of the orbital Rashba effect at the Cu|CuOx interface besides the well-identified Pt intrinsic spin Hall effect. Leveraging such contribution from the orbital Rashba effect, we show a twofold enhancement in the effective torques on Co through harmonic Hall measurements. This result is corroborated by complementary spin Hall magneto-resistance and THz spectroscopy experiments. Our results unveil unexplored aspects of the electron's orbital degree of freedom, offering an alternative avenue for magnetization manipulation in spintronic devices with potential implications for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies using abundant and light elements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Field dependence of magnetization reversal by spin transfer

We analyse the effect of the applied field (Happl) on the current-driven magnetization reversal in pillar-shaped Co/Cu/Co trilayers, where we observe two different types of transition between the parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) magnetic configurations of the Co layers. If Happl is weaker than a rather small threshold value, the transitions between P and AP are irreversible and relatively sharp. For Happl exceding the threshold value, the same transitions are progressive and reversible. We show that the criteria for the stability of the P and AP states and the experimentally observed behavior can be precisely accounted for by introducing the current-induced torque of the spin transfer models in a Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert equation. This approach also provides a good description for the field dependence of the critical currents

Ultrafast spin-currents and charge conversion at \u3ci\u3e3d-5d\u3c/i\u3e interfaces probed by time-domain terahertz spectroscopy

Spintronic structures are extensively investigated for their spin-orbit torque properties, required for magnetic commutation functionalities. Current progress in these materials is dependent on the interface engineering for the optimization of spin transmission. Here, we advance the analysis of ultrafast spin-charge conversion phenomena at ferromagnetic-Transition metal interfaces due to their inverse spin-Hall effect properties. In particular, the intrinsic inverse spin-Hall effect of Pt-based systems and extrinsic inverse spin-Hall effect of Au:W and Au:Ta in NiFe/Au:(W,Ta) bilayers are investigated. The spin-charge conversion is probed by complementary techniques-ultrafast THz time-domain spectroscopy in the dynamic regime for THz pulse emission and ferromagnetic resonance spin-pumping measurements in the GHz regime in the steady state-to determine the role played by the material properties, resistivities, spin transmission at metallic interfaces, and spin-flip rates. These measurements show the correspondence between the THz time-domain spectroscopy and ferromagnetic spin-pumping for the different set of samples in term of the spin mixing conductance. The latter quantity is a critical parameter, determining the strength of the THz emission from spintronic interfaces. This is further supported by ab initio calculations, simulations, and analysis of the spin-diffusion and spin-relaxation of carriers within the multilayers in the time domain, permitting one to determine the main trends and the role of spin transmission at interfaces. This work illustrates that time-domain spectroscopy for spin-based THz emission is a powerful technique to probe spin-dynamics at active spintronic interfaces and to extract key material properties for spin-charge conversion