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Observation of the spin Nernst effect

Nature Materials volume 16, pages 977–981 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

The observation of the spin Hall effect1,2,3 triggered intense research on pure spin current transport4. With the spin Hall effect1,2,5,6, the spin Seebeck effect 7,8,9 and the spin Peltier effect 10,11 already observed, our picture of pure spin current transport is almost complete. The only missing piece is the spin Nernst (–Ettingshausen) effect, which so far has been discussed only on theoretical grounds12,13,14,15. Here, we report the observation of the spin Nernst effect. By applying a longitudinal temperature gradient, we generate a pure transverse spin current in a Pt thin film. For readout, we exploit the magnetization-orientation-dependent spin transfer to an adjacent yttrium iron garnet layer, converting the spin Nernst current in Pt into a controlled change of the longitudinal and transverse thermopower voltage. Our experiments show that the spin Nernst and the spin Hall effect in Pt are of comparable magnitude, but differ in sign, as corroborated by first-principles calculations.

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Figure 1: Charge- and spin-related electric and thermal effects.
Figure 2: Boundary conditions for the spin Nernst magneto-thermopower (SMT).
Figure 3: Experimental detection of the spin Nernst magneto-thermopower.

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Acknowledgements

S.M., M.A., S.G., H.H., R.G. and S.T.B.G. thank A. Erb for the preparation of the stoichiometric YIG target, T. Brenninger for technical support, and N. Vlietstra for the non-local sample preparation. Y.-T.C. and G.E.W.B. acknowledge funding by the FOM (Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie), EU- ICT-7 ‘INSPIN’, and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Nos 25247056, 25220910, 26103006). S.W. thanks S. Tölle and U. Eckern for helpful discussions. All authors acknowledge funding via the DFG Priority program 1538 ‘Spin-Caloric Transport’ (Projects GO 944/4, BA 2954/2 and EB 154/25).

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Author notes

  1. R. Schlitz & S. T. B. Goennenwein

    Present address: Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany

  2. R. Schlitz & S. T. B. Goennenwein

    Present address: Center for Transport and Devices of Emergent Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Walther-Meißner-Institut, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Walther-Meißner-Straße 8, 85748 Garching, Germany

    S. Meyer, M. Althammer, T. Wimmer, R. Schlitz, S. Geprägs, H. Huebl, R. Gross & S. T. B. Goennenwein

  2. Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany

    S. Meyer, T. Wimmer, H. Huebl, R. Gross & S. T. B. Goennenwein

  3. Kavli Institute of NanoScience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands

    Y.-T. Chen & G. E. W. Bauer

  4. RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan

    Y.-T. Chen

  5. Department Chemie, Physikalische Chemie, Universität München, Butenandtstraße 5-13, 81377 München, Germany

    S. Wimmer, D. Ködderitzsch & H. Ebert

  6. Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), Schellingstraße 4, 80799 München, Germany

    H. Huebl, R. Gross & S. T. B. Goennenwein

  7. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan

    G. E. W. Bauer

  8. WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan

    G. E. W. Bauer

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  1. S. Meyer
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Contributions

S.M., R.S. and T.W. designed the sample layout and carried out the experiments. S.M., Y.-T.C., G.E.W.B., R.G. and S.T.B.G. developed the explanation of the SMT effect. S.G. supervised the sample growth. Y.-T.C. and G.E.W.B. developed the theoretical framework and S.W., D.K. and H.E. performed first-principles calculations of the relevant spin-caloric transport coefficients. S.T.B.G. supervised the experiments. The manuscript was written by S.M., M.A. and S.T.B.G. All authors discussed and participated in writing the manuscript under the guidance of S.M. and G.E.W.B.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. T. B. Goennenwein.

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Meyer, S., Chen, YT., Wimmer, S. et al. Observation of the spin Nernst effect. Nature Mater 16, 977–981 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4964

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