Spin-Seebeck Effect: A Phonon Driven Spin Distribution

C. M. Jaworski, J. Yang, S. Mack, D. D. Awschalom, R. C. Myers, and J. P. Heremans

Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 186601 – Published 2 May 2011

Abstract

Here we report on measurements of the spin-Seebeck effect in GaMnAs over an extended temperature range alongside the thermal conductivity, specific heat, magnetization, and thermoelectric power. The amplitude of the spin-Seebeck effect in GaMnAs scales with the thermal conductivity of the GaAs substrate and the phonon-drag contribution to the thermoelectric power of the GaMnAs, demonstrating that phonons drive the spin redistribution. A phenomenological model involving phonon-magnon drag explains the spatial and temperature dependence of the measured spin distribution.

Received 4 February 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.186601

Authors & Affiliations

C. M. Jaworski¹, J. Yang², S. Mack³, D. D. Awschalom³, R. C. Myers^2,4,*,†, and J. P. Heremans^1,4,*,‡

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
²Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
³Center for Spintronics and Quantum Computation, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
⁴Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA