Dependence of inverse-spin Hall effect and spin-rectified voltage on tantalum thickness in Ta/CoFeB bilayer structure

Ta-layer thickness (t(Ta)) dependence of the measured DC voltage V from the inverse-spin Hall effect (ISHE) in Ta/CoFeB bilayer structure is experimentally investigated using the ferromagnetic resonance in the TE011 resonant cavity. The ISHE signals excluding the spin-rectified effect (SRE) were separated from the fitted curve of V against t(Ta). For t(Ta) approximate to lambda(Ta) (Ta-spin diffusion length = 2.7 nm), the deviation in ISHE voltage V-ISH between the experimental and theoretical values is significantly increased because of the large SRE contribution, which also results in a large deviation in the spin Hall angle theta(SH) (from 10% to 40%). However, when tTa >> lambda(Ta), the V-ISH values are consistent with theoretical values because the SRE terms become negligible, which subsequently improves the accuracy of the obtained theta(SH) within 4% deviation. The results will provide an outline for an accurate estimation of the theta(SH) for materials with small lambda value, which would be useful for utilizing the spin Hall effect in a 3-terminal spintronic devices in which magnetization can be controlled by in-plane current. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.