Spin magnetotransport in rare-earth iron garnet (REIG)/Pt: Effects of modulated bulk and REIG/Pt interfaces

Abstract

The intrinsic magnetization compensation behaviors of rare-earth iron garnets (REIGs) make the material promising for applications in ultrafast spin storage devices. REIG/heavy metal heterostructures such as TbIG/Pt often display two sign crossovers of anomalous Hall effect resistance with varying temperatures. One of these crossovers is attributed to the magnetization compensation of REIG, and the other to the competition between the magnetic proximity effect and the spin Hall effect. Here, we design trilayer REIG heterostructures based on two rare-earth species (Tb and Eu). We modulate the layer stacking of the TbIG/EuIG/TbIG sandwich with a fixed total thickness and explore the contributions of REIG bulk and REIG/Pt interfaces on these two crossover points. As TbIG gradually moves away from Pt, the compensation temperature shows some fluctuations. However, when TbIG is entirely out of contact with Pt, the second crossover point undergoes a change that shows REIG/Pt interface dependency. The results highlight the dominance of REIG bulk on the compensation behavior and the interface sensitivity of the second crossover point. This study provides a reference for designing controllable spintronics devices, such as magnon valve applications.