Berlin 2012 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 50: Joint Session "Spincaloric Transport" (jointly with TT)
MA 50.3: Talk
Friday, March 30, 2012, 10:00–10:15, EB 301
Evidence for thermal spin transfer torque — •Haiming Yu1,2,3, Simon Granville1, Dapeng Yu3, and Jean-Philippe Ansermet1 — 1Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland — 2Technische Universität München, Garching b. München, Germany — 3Peking University, Beijing, China
Spin caloritronics, i.e., the addition of thermal effects to the electrical and magnetic properties of nanostructures, has recently seen a rapid development. It has been predicted that a heat current can exert a spin torque on the magnetization in a nanostructure, analogous to the well-known spin-transfer torque induced by an electrical current. We provided the experimental evidence for this effect in spin valves, showing the switching field change with heat current.
We present measurements of the second harmonic voltage response of Co-Cu-Co pseudo-spin-valves deposited in the middle of Cu nanowires. We exploit the quasi-1D nature of the nanostructures to generate a heat current by asymmetric Joule heating in the Co layers. Both the magnitude of the second harmonic response of the spin valve and the field value of the maximum response are found to depend on the heat current. Both effects show that the magnetization dynamics of the pseudo-spin-valves is influenced by the heat current. The data provide a quantitative estimate of the thermal spin torque exerted on the magnetization of the Co layers.