Creating temperature gradients in magnetic nanostructures has resulted in a new research direction, that is, the combination of magneto- and thermoelectric effects. Here, we demonstrate the observation of one important effect of this class: the magneto-Seebeck effect. It is observed when a magnetic configuration changes the charge-based Seebeck coefficient. In particular, the Seebeck coefficient changes during the transition from a parallel to an antiparallel magnetic configuration in a tunnel junction. In this respect, it is the analogue to the tunnelling magnetoresistance. The Seebeck coefficients in parallel and antiparallel configurations are of the order of the voltages known from the charge-Seebeck effect. The size and sign of the effect can be controlled by the composition of the electrodes' atomic layers adjacent to the barrier and the temperature. The geometric centre of the electronic density of states relative to the Fermi level determines the size of the Seebeck effect. Experimentally, we realized 8.8% magneto-Seebeck effect, which results from a voltage change of about -8.7 μV K⁻¹ from the antiparallel to the parallel direction close to the predicted value of -12.1 μV K⁻¹. In contrast to the spin-Seebeck effect, it can be measured as a voltage change directly without conversion of a spin current.

We systematically measured the dc voltage V(ISH) induced by spin pumping together with the inverse spin Hall effect in ferromagnet-platinum bilayer films. In all our samples, comprising ferromagnetic 3d transition metals, Heusler compounds, ferrite spinel oxides, and magnetic semiconductors, V(ISH) invariably has the same polarity, and scales with the magnetization precession cone angle. These findings, together with the spin mixing conductance derived from the experimental data, quantitatively corroborate the present theoretical understanding of spin pumping in combination with the inverse spin Hall effect.

A scannable laser beam is used to generate local thermal gradients in metallic (Co2FeAl) or insulating (Y3Fe5O12) ferromagnetic thin films. We study the resulting local charge and spin currents that arise due to the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) and the spin Seebeck effect (SSE), respectively. In the local ANE experiments, we detect the voltage in the Co2FeAl thin film plane as a function of the laser-spot position and external magnetic field magnitude and orientation. The local SSE effect is detected in a similar fashion by exploiting the inverse spin Hall effect in a Pt layer deposited on top of the Y3Fe5O12. Our findings establish local thermal spin and charge current generation as well as spin caloritronic domain imaging.

Knowledge of the spin polarization is of fundamental importance for the use of a material in spintronics applications. Here, we used femtosecond optical excitation of half-metals to distinguish between half-metallic and metallic properties. Because the direct energy transfer by Elliot-Yafet scattering is blocked in a half-metal, the demagnetization time is a measure for the degree of half-metallicity. We propose that this characteristic enables us vice versa to establish a novel and fast characterization tool for this highly important material class used in spin-electronic devices. The technique has been applied to a variety of materials where the spin polarization at the Fermi level ranges from 45 to 98%: Ni, Co(2)MnSi, Fe(3)O(4), La(0.66)Sr(0.33)MnO(3) and CrO(2).

The synapse is a crucial element in biological neural networks, but a simple electronic equivalent has been absent. This complicates the development of hardware that imitates biological architectures in the nervous system. Now, the recent progress in the experimental realization of memristive devices has renewed interest in artificial neural networks. The resistance of a memristive system depends on its past states and exactly this functionality can be used to mimic the synaptic connections in a (human) brain. After a short introduction to memristors, we present and explain the relevant mechanisms in a biological neural network, such as long-term potentiation and spike time-dependent plasticity, and determine the minimal requirements for an artificial neural network. We review the implementations of these processes using basic electric circuits and more complex mechanisms that either imitate biological systems or could act as a model system for them.

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As a consequence of the growing theoretical predictions of 100% spin-polarized half- and full-Heusler compounds over the past six years, Heusler alloys are among the most promising materials class for future magnetoelectronic and spintronic applications. We have integrated Co2MnSi, as a representative of the full-Heusler compound family, as one magnetic electrode into magnetic tunnel junctions. The preparation strategy has been chosen so as to sputter Co2MnSi at room temperature onto a V-buffer layer, which assists in (110) texture formation, and to deposit the Al-barrier layer directly thereafter. After plasma oxidizing the Al-barrier layer, subsequent annealing leads (1) to the texture formation and (2) to the appropriate atomic ordering within the Co2MnSi, and (3) homogenizes the AlOx barrier. It is shown that the magnetic switching of the ferromagnetic electrodes is well controlled from room temperature down to 10K. The resulting tunnel magnetoresistance-effect amplitude of the Co2MnSi containing magnetic tunnel junctions has been determined as a function of temperature and the spin polarization of the Co2MnSi Heusler compound has been estimated to be 61% at 10K. Thus, the spin polarization of the Co2MnSi layer at 10K exceeds that of conventional transition metals.

Spin-dependent conduction in metals underlies all modern magnetic memory technologies, such as giant magnetoresistance (GMR). The charge current in ferromagnetic transition metals is carried by two non-mixing populations of sp-band Fermi-level electrons: one of majority-spin and one of minority-spin. These electrons experience spin-dependent momentum scattering with localized electrons, which originate from the spin-split d-band. The direct observation of magnetotransport under such fundamental conditions, however, requires magnetotransport measurements on the same timescale as the electron momentum scattering, which takes place in the sub-100 fs regime. Using terahertz electromagnetic probes, we directly observe the magnetotransport in a metallic system under the fundamental conditions, and determine the spin-dependent densities and momentum scattering times of conduction electrons. We show that traditional measurements significantly underestimate the spin asymmetry in electron scattering, a key parameter responsible for effects such as GMR. Furthermore, we demonstrate the possibility of magnetic modulation of terahertz waves, along with heat- and contact-free GMR readout using ultrafast terahertz signals