Electric manipulation of spin relaxation using the spin Hall effect

Phys Rev Lett. 2008 Jul 18;101(3):036601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.036601. Epub 2008 Jul 18.

Abstract

Using the spin Hall effect, magnetization relaxation in a Ni_{81}Fe_{19}/Pt film is manipulated electrically. An electric current applied to the Pt layer exerts spin torque on the entire magnetization of the Ni81Fe19 layer via the macroscopic spin transfer induced by the spin Hall effect and modulates the magnetization relaxation in the Ni81Fe19 layer. This method allows us to tune the magnetization dynamics regardless of the film size without applying electric currents directly to the magnetic layer.