We have studied the spin transport and the spin Hall effect as a function of temperature for platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) in lateral spin valve structures. First, by using the spin absorption technique, we extract the spin diffusion length of Pt and Au. Secondly, using the same devices, we have measured the spin Hall conductivity and analyzed its evolution with temperature to identify the dominant scattering mechanisms behind the spin Hall effect. This analysis confirms that the intrinsic mechanism dominates in Pt whereas extrinsic effects are more relevant in Au. Moreover, we identify and quantify the phonon-induced skew scattering. We show that this contribution to skew scattering becomes relevant in metals such as Au, with a low residual resistivity.

The spin transport and spin-to-charge current conversion properties of bismuth are investigated using permalloy/copper/bismuth (Py/Cu/Bi) lateral spin valve structures. The spin current is strongly absorbed at the surface of Bi, leading to ultrashort spin-diffusion lengths. A spin-to-charge current conversion is measured, which is attributed to the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect at the Cu/Bi interface. The spin-current-induced charge current is found to change direction with increasing temperature. A theoretical analysis relates this behavior to the complex spin structure and dispersion of the surface states at the Fermi energy. The understanding of this phenomenon opens novel possibilities to exploit spin-orbit coupling to create, manipulate, and detect spin currents in two-dimensional systems.

The contributions to the spin relaxation in copper (Cu) nanowires are quantified by carefully analyzing measurements of both charge and spin transport in lateral spin valves as a function of temperature and thickness. The temperature dependence of the spin-flip scattering solely arises from the scattering with phonons, as in bulk Cu, whereas we identify grain boundaries as the main temperature-independent contribution of the defects in the nanowires. A puzzling maximum in the spin-diffusion length of Cu at low temperatures is found, which can be explained by the presence of magnetic impurities. The results presented here suggest routes for improving spin transport in metallic nanostructures, otherwise limited by confinement effects.

Spin injection properties of ferromagnetic metals are studied and are compared by using highly reproducible cobalt/copper and permalloy/copper lateral spin valves (LSVs) with transparent contacts, fabricated with a careful control of the interface and the purity of copper. Spin polarization of permalloy and cobalt are obtained as a function of temperature. Analysis of the temperature dependence of both the spin polarization and the conductivity of permalloy confirms that the two-channel model for ferromagnetic metals is valid to define the current spin polarization and shows that a correction factor of $\sim${}2 is needed for the values obtained by LSV experiments. The spin transport properties of copper, which also are studied as a function of temperature, are not affected by the used ferromagnetic material. The low-temperature maximum in the spin-diffusion length of copper is attributed to the presence of diluted magnetic impurities intrinsic from the copper.

We propose and demonstrate spin manipulation by magnetically controlled modulation of pure spin currents in cobalt/copper lateral spin valves, fabricated on top of the magnetic insulator ${\mathrm{Y}}_3\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_5{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ (YIG). The direction of the YIG magnetization can be controlled by a small magnetic field. We observe a clear modulation of the nonlocal resistance as a function of the orientation of the YIG magnetization with respect to the polarization of the spin current. Such a modulation can only be explained by assuming a finite spin-mixing conductance at the Cu/YIG interface, as it follows from the solution of the spin-diffusion equation. These results open a path towards the development of spin logics.

Phys. Rev. B 92, 019905 (2015)