Spin valve effect of the interfacial spin accumulation in yttrium iron garnet/platinum bilayers

We report the spin valve effect in yttrium iron garnet/platinum (YIG/Pt) bilayers. The spin Hall effect (SHE) generates spin accumulation at the YIG/Pt interface and can be opened/closed by magnetization switching in the electrical insulator YIG. The interfacial spin accumulation was measured in both YIG/Pt and YIG/Cu/Pt structures using a planar Hall configuration. The spin valve effect remained, even after a 2 nm thick Cu layer was inserted between the YIG and Pt layers, which aimed to exclude the induced magnetization at the YIG/Pt interface. The transverse Hall voltage and switching field were dependent on the applied charge current density. The origin of this behavior can be explained by the SHE induced torque exerted on the domain wall, caused by the transfer of the spin angular momentum from the spin-polarized current to the YIG magnetic moment.