Antiferromagnetic NiO thickness dependent sign of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in γ-Fe2O3/NiO/Pt epitaxial stacks

Bo Wen Dong, Lorenzo Baldrati, Christoph Schneider, Tomohiko Niizeki, Rafael Ramos, Andrew Ross, Joel Cramer, Eiji Saitoh, Mathias Kläui

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8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial γ-Fe2O3/NiO(001)/Pt stacks, as a function of temperature and thickness of the antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer. Upon increasing the thickness of NiO from 0 nm to 10 nm, we detect a sign change of the SMR in the temperature range between 10 K and 280 K. This temperature dependence of the SMR in our stacks is different compared to that of previously studied yttrium iron garnet/NiO/Pt, as we do not find any peak or sign change as a function of temperature. We explain our data by a combination of spin current reflection from both the NiO/Pt and γ-Fe2O3/NiO interfaces and the thickness-dependent exchange coupling mode between the NiO and γ-Fe2O3 layers, comprising parallel alignment for thin NiO and perpendicular alignment for thick NiO.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102405
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume114
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019 Mar 11

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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