Spin Seebeck mechanical force

Journal:
Nature Communications
Published:
DOI:
10.1038/s41467-019-10625-y
Affiliations:
9
Authors:
10
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Research Highlight

Mechanical force generated using spin current

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A current consisting of the flow of electron spins can generate a mechanical force large enough to cause a small cantilever to wag up and down.

Conventional electric currents are generated by the flow of electric charge caused when electrons move along a conductor. But electrons have another property known as spin, which can also be caused to flow.

Now, a team led by researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR) at Tohoku University has demonstrated that the angular momentum carried by electron spins can be used to cause a cantilever to vibrate.

They injected spin into the cantilever by heating one end of a magnetic insulator. When the spin waves relaxed, a force was generated that caused the cantilever to vibrate.

Unlike conventional electric currents, the transfer of spin current does not require wiring, making it attractive for use in miniature devices.

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References

  1. Nature Communications 10, 2616 (2019). doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10625-y
Institutions Authors Share
Tohoku University, Japan
4.000000
 0.40
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Japan
2.000000
 0.20
RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Japan
1.916667
 0.19
The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Japan
0.916667
 0.09
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (KITS), UCAS, China
0.583333
 0.06
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China
0.583333
 0.06