TY - JOUR
T1 - Kerr rotation in Cu, Ag, and Au driven by spin accumulation and spin-orbit coupling
AU - Choi, Gyung Min
AU - Cahill, David G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Physical Society.
PY - 2014/12/19
Y1 - 2014/12/19
N2 - We measure transient spin accumulation in Cu, Ag, and Au by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The transient spin current is generated by ultrafast demagnetization of a ferromagnetic [Co/Pt] layer, and spin accumulates in an adjacent normal metal, Cu, Ag, or Au by spin diffusion. The magnitude of the Kerr rotation is described by an off-diagonal conductivity tensor that is proportional to spin accumulation and spin-orbit coupling. From comparisons between observed Kerr rotations and calculated spin accumulations, we determine the strength of spin-orbit coupling of conduction electrons in Cu, Ag, and Au to be 0.02, 0.01, and 0.12eV, respectively.
AB - We measure transient spin accumulation in Cu, Ag, and Au by time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. The transient spin current is generated by ultrafast demagnetization of a ferromagnetic [Co/Pt] layer, and spin accumulates in an adjacent normal metal, Cu, Ag, or Au by spin diffusion. The magnitude of the Kerr rotation is described by an off-diagonal conductivity tensor that is proportional to spin accumulation and spin-orbit coupling. From comparisons between observed Kerr rotations and calculated spin accumulations, we determine the strength of spin-orbit coupling of conduction electrons in Cu, Ag, and Au to be 0.02, 0.01, and 0.12eV, respectively.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.90.214432
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.90.214432
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84919653107
SN - 1098-0121
VL - 90
JO - Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
JF - Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
IS - 21
M1 - 214432
ER -