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Spin Hall effect devices

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 382–390 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

The spin Hall effect is a relativistic spin–orbit coupling phenomenon that can be used to electrically generate or detect spin currents in non-magnetic systems. Here we review the experimental results that, since the first experimental observation of the spin Hall effect less than 10 years ago, have established the basic physical understanding of the phenomenon, and the role that several of the spin Hall devices have had in the demonstration of spintronic functionalities and physical phenomena. We have attempted to organize the experiments in a chronological order, while simultaneously dividing the Review into sections on semiconductor or metal spin Hall devices, and on optical or electrical spin Hall experiments. The spin Hall device studies are placed in a broader context of the field of spin injection, manipulation, and detection in non-magnetic conductors.

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Figure 1: Observation of SHE by the magneto-optical Kerr microscope.
Figure 2: Observation of SHE by the circularly polarized electroluminescence of coplanar p–n diodes.
Figure 3: Observation of iSHE using the two-colour optical pump-and-probe technique.
Figure 4: iSHE-based transistor.
Figure 5: iSHE detection in a metal.
Figure 6: iSHE and SHE detection in a metal.
Figure 7: Observation of iSHE in a metal device with spin injection from a ferromagnet by the ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping.
Figure 8: Electrical spin Hall devices in semiconductors.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from EU grants ERC Advanced Grant 268066-0MSPIN and FP7-215368 SemiSpinNet, and from Czech Republic grant AV0Z10100521 Praemium Academiae.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i., Cukrovarnická 10, 162 53 Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Tomas Jungwirth, Jörg Wunderlich & Kamil Olejník

  2. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, Nottingham, UK

    Tomas Jungwirth

  3. Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK

    Jörg Wunderlich & Kamil Olejník

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Correspondence to Tomas Jungwirth.

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Jungwirth, T., Wunderlich, J. & Olejník, K. Spin Hall effect devices. Nature Mater 11, 382–390 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3279

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