We report the observation of ferromagnetic resonance-driven spin pumping signals at room temperature in three-dimensional topological insulator thin films -Bi 2 Se 3 and (Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 -deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 thin films. By systematically varying the Bi 2 Se 3 film thickness, we show that the spin-charge conversion efficiency, characterized by the inverse RashbaEdelstein effect length (λ IREE ), increases dramatically as the film thickness is increased from 2 quintuple layers, saturating above 6 quintuple layers. This suggests a dominant role of surface states in spin and charge interconversion in topological insulator/ferromagnet heterostructures.Our conclusion is further corroborated by studying a series of Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 /(Bi,Sb) 2 Te 3 heterostructures. Finally, we use the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth broadening and the inverse RashbaEdelstein signals to determine the effective interfacial spin mixing conductance and λ IREE .

Topological surface states (TSSs) in a topological insulator are expected to be able to produce a spin-orbit torque that can switch a neighboring ferromagnet. This effect may be absent if the ferromagnet is conductive because it can completely suppress the TSSs, but it should be present if the ferromagnet is insulating. This study reports TSS-induced switching in a bilayer consisting of a topological insulator Bi2Se3 and an insulating ferromagnet BaFe12O19. A charge current in Bi2Se3 can switch the magnetization in BaFe12O19 up and down. When the magnetization is switched by a field, a current in Bi2Se3 can reduce the switching field by ~4000 Oe. The switching efficiency at 3 K is 300 times higher than at room temperature; it is ~30 times higher than in Pt/BaFe12O19. These strong effects originate from the presence of more pronounced TSSs at low temperatures due to enhanced surface conductivity and reduced bulk conductivity.

The large spin−orbit coupling in topological insulators results in helical spin-textured Dirac surface states that are attractive for topological spintronics. These states generate an efficient spin−orbit torque on proximal magnetic moments. However, memory or logic spin devices based upon such switching require a non-optimal three-terminal geometry, with two terminals for the writing current and one for reading the state of the device. An alternative two-terminal device geometry is now possible by exploiting the recent discovery of the unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance in heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayers and unidirectional magnetoresistance in magnetic topological insulators. Here, we report the observation of such unidirectional magnetoresistance in a technologically relevant device geometry that combines a topological insulator with a conventional ferromagnetic metal. Our devices show a figure of merit (magnetoresistance per current density per total resistance) that is more than twice as large as the highest reported values in all-metal Ta/Co bilayers.

This letter reports the modification of magnetism in a magnetic insulator Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 thin film by topological surface states (TSS) in an adjacent topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 thin film. Ferromagnetic resonance measurements show that the TSS in Bi 2 Se 3 produces a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, results in a decrease in the gyromagnetic ratio, and

A topological insulator (TI) interfaced with a magnetic insulator (MI) may host an anomalous Hall effect (AHE), a quantum AHE, and a topological Hall effect (THE). Recent studies, however, suggest that coexisting magnetic phases in TI/MI heterostructures may result in an AHE-associated response that resembles a THE but in fact is not. This article reports a genuine THE in a TI/MI structure that has only one magnetic phase. The structure shows a THE in the temperature range of T=2-3 K and an AHE at T=80-300 K. Over T=3-80 K, the two effects coexist but show opposite temperature dependencies. Control measurements, calculations, and simulations together suggest that the observed THE originates from skyrmions, rather than the coexistence of two AHE responses. The skyrmions are formed due to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) at the interface; the DMI strength estimated is substantially higher than that in heavy metal-based systems.

We report on tunneling measurements that reveal for the first time the evolution of the quasi-particle state density across the bandwidth controlled Mott metal to insulator transition in the rare earth perovskite nickelates. In this, a canonical class of transition metal oxides, we study in particular two materials close to the T=0 metal-insulator transition: NdNiO 3 , an antiferromagnetic insulator, and LaNiO 3 , a correlated metal. We measure a sharp gap in NdNiO 3 , which has an insulating ground state, of 2Δ ≈ 30 meV. Remarkably, metallic LaNiO 3 exhibits a pseudogap of the same order that presages the metal insulator transition. The smallness of both the gap and pseudogap suggests they arise from a common origin: proximity to a quantum critical point at or near the T=0 metal-insulator transition. It also supports theoretical models of the quantum phase transition in terms of spin and charge instabilities of an itinerant Fermi surface.

Topological spintronics aims to exploit the spin-momentum locking in the helical surface states of topological insulators for spin-orbit torque devices. We address a fundamental question that still remains unresolved in this context: does the topological surface state alone produce the largest values of spin-charge conversion efficiency or can the strongly spin-orbit coupled bulk states also contribute significantly? By studying the Fermi level dependence of spin pumping in topological insulator/ferrimagnetic insulator bilayers, we show that the spin Hall conductivity is constant when the Fermi level is tuned across the bulk band gap, consistent with a full bulk band calculation. The results suggest a new perspective, wherein "bulk-surface correspondence" allows spin-charge conversion to be simultaneously viewed either as coming from the full bulk band, or from spinmomentum locking of the surface state. :1906.11116v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] arXiv

The unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba−Edelstein magnetoresistance is of great fundamental and practical interest, particularly in the context of reading magnetization states in two-terminal spin–orbit torque memory and logic devices due to its unique symmetry. Here, we report large unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba−Edelstein magnetoresistance in a new material family—magnetic insulator/topological insulator Y3Fe5O12/Bi2Se3 bilayers. Such heterostructures exhibit a unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba−Edelstein magnetoresistance that is about an order of magnitude larger than the highest values reported so far in all-metal Ta/Co bilayers. The polarized neutron reflectometry reveals a unique temperature-dependent magnetic intermediary layer at the magnetic insulator–substrate interface and a proximity layer at the magnetic insulator–topological insulator interface. These polarized neutron reflectometry findings echo the magnetoresistance results in a comprehensive physics picture. Finally, we demonstrate a prototype memory device based on a magnetic insulator/topological insulator bilayer, using unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba−Edelstein magnetoresistance for electrical readout of current-induced magnetization switching aided by a small Oersted field.