We report the observation of the spin valve effect in (Ga,Mn)As/p-GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As trilayer devices. Magnetoresistance measurements carried out in the current in plane geometry reveal positive magnetoresistance peaks when the two ferromagnetic layers are magnetized orthogonal to each other. Measurements carried out for different post-growth annealing conditions and spacer layer thickness suggest that the positive magnetoresistance peaks originate in a noncollinear spin valve effect due to spin-dependent scattering that is believed to occur primarily at interfaces.
We report magnetization and magetoresistance measurements in hybrid ferromagnetic metal/semiconductor heterostructures comprised of MnAs/(Ga,Mn)As bilayers. Our measurements show that the (metallic) MnAs and (semiconducting) (Ga,Mn)As layers are exchange coupled, re- sulting in an exchange biasing of the magnetically softer (Ga,Mn)As layer that weakens with layer thickness. Magnetoresistance measurements in the current-perpendicular-to-the-plane geometry show a spin valve effect in these self-exchange biased bilayers. Similar measurements in MnAs/p- GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As trilayers show that the exchange coupling diminishes with spatial separation between the layers.
Information transport and processing by pure magnonic spin currents in insulators is a promising alternative to conventional charge-current driven spintronic devices. The absence of Joule heating as well as the reduced spin wave damping in insulating ferromagnets has been suggested to enable the implementation of efficient logic devices. After the proof of concept for a logic majority gate based on the superposition of spin waves has been successfully demonstrated, further components are required to perform complex logic operations. A key component is a switch that corresponds to a conventional magnetoresistive spin valve. Here, we report on magnetization orientation dependent spin signal detection in collinear magnetic multilayers with spin transport by magnonic spin currents. We find in Y3Fe5O12|CoO|Co tri-layers that the detected spin signal depends on the relative alignment of Y3Fe5O12 and Co. This demonstrates a spin valve behavior with an effect amplitude of 120% in our systems. We demonstrate the reliability of the effect and investigate the origin by both temperature and power dependent measurements, showing that spin rectification effects and a magnetic layer alignment dependent spin transport effect result in the measured signal.
We report a photoinduced change of the coercive field, i.e., a photocoercivity effect (PCE), under very low intensity illumination of a low-doped (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductor. We find a strong correlation between the PCE and the sample resistivity. Spatially resolved dynamics of the magnetization reversal rule out any role of thermal heating in the origin of this PCE, and we propose a mechanism based on the light-induced lowering of the domain wall pinning energy. The PCE is local and reversible, allowing writing and erasing of magnetic images using light.
The spin-Seebeck effect was recently discovered in a metallic ferromagnet and consists of a thermally generated spin distribution that is electrically measured utilizing the inverse spin Hall effect. Here this effect is reproduced experimentally in a ferromagnetic semiconductor, GaMnAs, which allows for flexible design of the magnetization directions, a larger spin polarization, and measurements across the magnetic phase transition. The spin-Seebeck effect in GaMnAs is observed even in the absence of longitudinal charge transport. The spatial distribution of spin-currents is maintained across electrical breaks highlighting the local nature of the effect, which is therefore ascribed to a thermally induced spin redistribution.
The methodology used to obtain the values of the spin-orbit couplings from the spin expectation values from perturbation theory was incorrect. As a result Figs. 2 and 3 are incorrect.