Pure spin-Hall magnetoresistance in Rh/Y3Fe5O12 hybrid (1510.09007v1)

Abstract: We report an investigation of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and anomalous Hall resistance (AHR) of Rh and Pt thin films sputtered on epitaxial Y$3$Fe$_5$O${12}$ (YIG) ferromagnetic insulator films. For the Pt/YIG hybrid, large spin-Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) along with a sizable conventional anisotropic magnetoresistance (CAMR) and a nontrivial temperature dependence of AHR were observed in the temperature range of 5-300 K. In contrast, a reduced SMR with negligible CAMR and AHR was found in Rh/YIG hybrid. Since CAMR and AHR are characteristics for all ferromagnetic metals, our results suggest that the Pt is likely magnetized by YIG due to the magnetic proximity effect (MPE) while Rh remains free of MPE. Thus the Rh/YIG hybrid could be an ideal model system to explore physics and devices associated with pure spin current.