Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) DivisionDate
2015-01-08Preprint Posting Date
2014-07-31Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/346762
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The spin Hall and its inverse effects, driven by the spin orbit interaction, provide an interconversion mechanism between spin and charge currents. Since the spin Hall effect generates and manipulates spin current electrically, to achieve a large effect is becoming an important topic in both academia and industries. So far, materials with heavy elements carrying a strong spin orbit interaction, provide the only option. We propose here a new mechanism, using the surface roughness in ultrathin films, to enhance the spin Hall effect without heavy elements. Our analysis based on Cu and Al thin films suggests that surface roughness is capable of driving a spin Hall angle that is comparable to that in bulk Au. We also demonstrate that the spin Hall effect induced by surface roughness subscribes only to the side-jump contribution but not the skew scattering. The paradigm proposed in this paper provides the second, not if only, alternative to generate a sizable spin Hall effect.Citation
Spin Hall effect by surface roughness 2015, 91 (4) Physical Review BPublisher
American Physical Society (APS)Journal
Physical Review BarXiv
1407.8310ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1103/PhysRevB.91.045407