Variation of the giant intrinsic spin Hall conductivity of Pt with carrier lifetime.

More than a decade after the first theoretical and experimental studies of the spin Hall conductivity (SHC) of Pt, both its dominant origin and amplitude remain in dispute. We report the experimental determination of the rapid variation of the intrinsic SHC of Pt with the carrier lifetime (τ) in the dirty-metal regime by incorporating finely dispersed MgO intersite impurities into the Pt, while maintaining its essential band structure. This conclusively validates the theoretical prediction that the SHC in Pt in the dirty-metal regime should be dominated by the intrinsic contribution, and should decrease rapidly with shortening τ. When interfacial spin backflow is taken into account, the intrinsic SHC of Pt in the clean limit is at least 1.6 × 106 (ℏ/2e) ohm-1 m-1, more than 3.5 times greater than the available theoretical predictions. Our work also establishes a compelling spin Hall metal Pt0.6(MgO)0.4 with an internal giant spin Hall ratio of 0.73.