Spin Current Transport in Hybrid Pt/Multifunctional Magnetoelectric Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 Bilayers

The low power manipulation of magnetization is currently a highly sought-after objective in spintronics. Nonferromagnetic large spin–orbit coupling heavy metal (NM)/ferromagnet (FM) heterostructures offer interesting elements of response to this issue by granting the manipulation of the FM magnetization by the NM spin Hall effect-generated spin current. Additional functionalities, such as the electric field control of the spin current generation, can be offered using multifunctional FMs. We have studied the spin current-transfer processes between Pt and the multifunctional magnetoelectric Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 (GFO). In particular, via angular-dependent magnetotransport measurements, we were able to differentiate between magnetic proximity effect-induced anisotropic magnetoresistance and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Our analysis shows that SMR is the dominant phenomenon at all temperatures and is the only one to be considered near room temperature, with a magnitude comparable to those observed in Pd/YIG or Pt/YIG heterostructures. These results indicate that magnetoelectric GFO thin films show promises for achieving an electric-field control of the spin current generation in NM/FM oxide-based heterostructures.