Crystallographic dependence of the spin Hall angle in epitaxial Pt films: Comparison of optical and electrical detection of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance techniques

The spin Hall effect appears in nature in two forms. Its intrinsic form is highly dependent on the crystal symmetry while its extrinsic form stems from impurity scattering. Its efficiency is defined by the spin Hall angle, theta S H, and has profound impact on spintronic technologies. However, an accurate measurement of theta S H is not straightforward nor the identification of its origin. In this work, we apply a spin-torque driven ferromagnetic resonance method that is probed in two different ways, optically and electrically, to study the dependence of theta S H in the crystallographic direction in epitaxial Al2O3/Pt (111), MgO(110)/Pt (110), and MgO(001)/Pt (001) films. We show that the electrical technique is limited in its ability to accurately quantify theta S H at high current densities, and in some cases, it may even result in erroneous theta S H values. Such cases include films that exhibit a large inhomogeneous broadening. We find that theta S H is strongly affected by the crystallographic direction. Our study extends the understanding of one of the most commonly used methods for the exploration of the spin Hall effect. (C) 2022 Author(s)

Automated summary

In this study, the dependence of the spin Hall angle θSH was investigated in epitaxial Al2O3/Pt, MgO/Pt films using a spin-torque driven ferromagnetic resonance method. It was found that the electrical technique had limitations in accurately quantifying θSH at high current densities and could result in erroneous values, particularly for films with large inhomogeneous broadening. The study also revealed a strong dependence of θSH on the crystallographic direction.