Spin-Seebeck effects in films

The spin-Seebeck effect (SSE) converts a heat current into a spin current, a flow of spin angular momentum, and spin voltage, the driving force for nonequilibrium spin currents, in a ferromagnetic metal. In this study, the SSE in a ferromagnetic Ni81Fe19 film has been investigated by means of the inverse spin-Hall effect (ISHE) in a Pt film at room temperature. The experimental results measured in the Ni81Fe19/Pt system show that the sign of the thermally induced spin voltage is reversed between the higher- and lower-temperature ends of the Ni81Fe19 film. The ISHE in the Pt film allows us to detect the SSE signal with high sensitivity and to separate it from extrinsic thermoelectric effects.