The spin Hall effect (SHE), induced by spin-orbit interaction in nonmagnetic materials, is one of the promising phenomena for conversion between charge and spin currents in spintronic devices. The spin Hall (SH) angle is the characteristic parameter of this conversion. We have performed experiments of the conversion from spin into charge currents by the SHE in lateral spin valve structures. We present experimental results on the extrinsic SHEs induced by doping nonmagnetic metals, Cu or Ag, with impurities having a large spin-orbit coupling, Bi or Pb, as well as results on the intrinsic SHE of Au. The SH angle induced by Bi in Cu or Ag is negative and particularly large for Bi in Cu, 10 times larger than the intrinsic SH angle in Au. We also observed a large SH angle for CuPb, but the SHE signal disappeared in a few days. Such an aging effect could be related to a fast mobility of Pb in Cu and has not been observed in CuBi alloys.

• Received 30 July 2013
• Revised 11 January 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.054401