Nanophotonic Structures with Optical Surface modes for Tunable Spin Current Generation

Nanoscale. 2021. No. 13. P. 5791–5799.

Polina Shilina, Ignatyeva D., Kapralov P., Sekatskii S., Nur E Alam M., Vasiliev M., Alameh K., Achanta V. G., Song Y., Hamidi S. M., Zvezdin A., Belotelov V.

We propose a novel type of photonic-crystal (PC) based nanostructures for efficient and tunable optically-induced spin current generation via the Spin Seebeck and inverse spin Hall effects. It is experimentally demonstrated that optical surface modes localized at the PC surface covered by ferromagnetic layer and materials with giant spin-orbit coupling (SOC) notably increase the efficiency of the optically-induced spin current generation and provides its tunability by modifying light wavelength or angle of incidence. Up to 100% of the incident light power can be transferred to heat within the SOC layer and, therefore, to spin current. Importantly, high efficiency becomes accessible even for ultra-thin SOC layers. Moreover, surface patterning of the PC-based spintronic nanostructure allows local generation of spin currents at the pattern scales rather than diameter of the laser beam.

Keywords: спинтроника, spintronics, наноплазмоника и нанофотоника, nanoplasmonics and nanophotonics