All-oxide spin Seebeck effects

We report the observation of longitudinal spin Seebeck effects (LSSEs) in an all-oxide bilayer system comprising an IrO2 film and an Y3Fe5O12 film. Spin currents, which are generated by a temperature gradient across the IrO2/Y3Fe5O12 interface, were detected as a voltage via the inverse spin Hall effect in the conductive IrO2 layer. This voltage is proportional to the magnitude of the temperature gradient; its magnetic field dependence is consistent with the characteristics of LSSEs. This demonstration may lead to the realization of low-cost, stable, transparent spin-current-driven thermoelectric devices. (C) 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics