All-metallic lateral spin valves using Co2Fe(Ge0.5Ga0.5) Heusler alloy with a large spin signal

A large spin signal (Delta Rs) of 12.8m Omega at room temperature is demonstrated in an all-metallic lateral spin valve (LSV) device comprising of ferromagnetic wire of a highly spin-polarized Co2Fe(Ge0.5Ga0.5) Heusler alloy and a Cu wire. From the results on multi-terminal LSV devices, the origin of the large Delta R-s was concluded to be the high spin polarization of Co2Fe(Ge0.5Ga0.5) and the resultant small spin absorption. The all-metallic LSV device without MgO barrier has low contact resistance, which is considered to be beneficial for a high frequency ultrathin read sensor for the next generation ultrahigh density magnetic recording. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3681804]