Subterahertz spin pumping from an insulating antiferromagnet.
Priyanka VaidyaSophie A MorleyJohan van TolYan LiuRan ChengArne BrataasDavid LedermanEnrique Del BarcoPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2020)
Spin-transfer torque and spin Hall effects combined with their reciprocal phenomena, spin pumping and inverse spin Hall effects (ISHEs), enable the reading and control of magnetic moments in spintronics. The direct observation of these effects remains elusive in antiferromagnetic-based devices. We report subterahertz spin pumping at the interface of the uniaxial insulating antiferromagnet manganese difluoride and platinum. The measured ISHE voltage arising from spin-charge conversion in the platinum layer depends on the chirality of the dynamical modes of the antiferromagnet, which is selectively excited and modulated by the handedness of the circularly polarized subterahertz irradiation. Our results open the door to the controlled generation of coherent, pure spin currents at terahertz frequencies.