Spin Hall magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic insulators

Abstract

Antiferromagnetic materials promise improved performance for spintronic applications, as they are robust against external magnetic field perturbations and allow for faster magnetization dynamics compared to ferromagnets. The direct observation of the antiferromagnetic state, however, is challenging due to the absence of a macroscopic magnetization. Here, we show that the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) is a versatile tool to probe the antiferromagnetic spin structure via simple electrical transport experiments by investigating the easy-plane antiferromagnetic insulators $\alpha$-Fe2O3 (hematite) and NiO in bilayer heterostructures with a Pt heavy metal top electrode. While rotating an external magnetic field in three orthogonal planes, we record the longitudinal and the transverse resistivities of Pt and observe characteristic resistivity modulations consistent with the SMR effect. We analyze both their amplitude and phase and compare the data to the results from a prototypical collinear ferrimagnetic Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayer. The observed magnetic field dependence is explained in a comprehensive model, based on two magnetic sublattices and taking into account magnetic field-induced modifications of the domain structure. Our results show that the SMR allows us to understand the spin configuration and to investigate magnetoelastic effects in antiferromagnetic multi-domain materials. Furthermore, in $\alpha$-Fe2O3/Pt bilayers, we find an unexpectedly large SMR amplitude of $2.5\times 10^{-3}$, twice as high as for prototype Y3Fe5O12/Pt bilayers, making the system particularly interesting for room-temperature antiferromagnetic spintronic applications.

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Cited by in corpus (17)

• Giant momentum-dependent spin splitting in centrosymmetric low Z antiferromagnets
• Coexistence of Anomalous Hall Effect and Weak Net Magnetization in Collinear Antiferromagnet MnTe
• Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films
• Exceptional sign changes of the non-local spin Seebeck effect in antiferromagnetic hematite
• Antiferromagnetic insulatronics: spintronics in insulating 3d metal oxides with antiferromagnetic coupling
• Role of substrate clamping on anisotropy and domain structure in the canted antiferromagnet $\alpha$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$
• Quantifying the spin mixing conductance of EuO/W heterostructures by spin Hall magnetoresistance experiments
• Observation of magnetization surface textures of the van der Waals antiferromagnet FePS3 by spin Hall magnetoresistance
• All-electrical Magnon Transport Experiments in Magnetically Ordered Insulators
• Static magnetic proximity effects and spin Hall magnetoresistance in Pt/Y${}_3$Fe${}_5$O${}_{12}$ and inverted Y${}_3$Fe${}_5$O${}_{12}$/Pt bilayers
• Strain driven antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in SrMnO${}_3$ probed by phase shifted Spin Hall magnetoresistance
• Thermal squeezing and nonlinear spectral shift of magnons in antiferromagnetic insulators
• Significant Unconventional Anomalous Hall Effect in Heavy Metal/Antiferromagnetic Insulator Heterostructures
• Impact of magnetic anisotropy on the magnon Hanle effect in $\alpha$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$
• Probing magnetic anisotropy and spin-reorientation transition in 3D antiferromagnet, Ho${}_{0.5}$Dy${}_{0.5}$FeO${}_3|$Pt using spin Hall magnetoresistance
• Low Temperature Suppression of the Spin Nernst Angle in Pt
• Spin Hall Magnetoresistance in Antiferromagnetic Insulators