Amplification of spin waves in yttrium iron garnet films through the spin Hall effect

We demonstrate that spin waves propagating in a film of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) can be amplified by a dc current in an adjacent Pt layer by means of the spin Hall effect. The experiments are done at room temperature using pulsed currents to avoid sample heating. Amplification occurs only for surface like modes propagating in a direction perpendicular to the applied in-plane field. The results are interpreted with a model for spin-wave propagation in a YIG film with magnetic losses and subject to a spin-transfer torque due to spin currents created by the spin Hall effect in the Pt layer. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3660586]