Giant transition-state enhancement of quasiparticle spin-Hall effect in an exchange-spin-split superconductor detected by non-local magnon spin-transport

Although recent experiments and theories have shown a variety of exotic transport properties of non-equilibrium quasiparticles (QPs) in superconductor (SC)-based devices with either Zeeman or exchange spin-splitting, how QP interplays with magnon spin currents remains elusive. Here, using non-local magnon spin-transport devices where a singlet SC (Nb) on top of a ferrimagnetic insulator (Y3Fe5O12) serves as a magnon spin detector, we demonstrate that the conversion efficiency of magnon spin to QP charge via inverse spin-Hall effect (iSHE) in such an exchange-spin-split SC can be greatly enhanced by up to 3 orders of magnitude compared with that in the normal state, particularly when its interface superconducting gap matches the magnon spin accumulation. Through systematic measurements with varying the current density and SC thickness, we identify that superconducting coherence peaks and exchange spin-splitting of the QP density-of-states, yielding a larger spin excitation while retaining a modest QP charge-imbalance relaxation, are responsible for the giant QP iSHE. The latter exchange-field-modified QP relaxation is experimentally proved by spatially resolved measurements with varying the separation of electrical contacts on the spin-split Nb.