ISBN 9783843906036

978-3-8439-0603-6, Reihe Physik

Jeannette Wulfhorst
Nonlocal spin currents in mesoscopic metallic spin valves

156 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Hamburg (2012), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Lateral all-metal mesosocopic spin valves consisting of two ferromagnetic electrodes and an interconnecting paramagnetic channel are investigated to observe the nonlocal spin-dependent injection, transport and detection. These processes are determined experimentally with transport measurements and optical imaging techniques. Contributions to the nonlocal magnetoresistance of such lateral spin valves are discussed. The incorporation of tunnel barriers into spin valves, the influences of geometric properties and the influences of different materials for the paramagnetic channels is understood in the framework of a diffusive theoretical description which includes spin diffusion, spin relaxation, and spin precession. Comparison of the spin-valve effect and spin-precession measurements with the spin dependent theoretical description yields the spin-relaxation length for copper and aluminum. Magnetic transmission X-ray microscopy is used to determine the injected spin accumulation in copper. As a result the optimization of the measurement setup and analysis procedure is presented.