Generation of spin currents by surface plasmon resonance

表面プラズモン共鳴によるスピン流生成

内田 健一*; 安立 裕人; 菊池 大介*; 伊藤 俊*; Qiu, Z.*; 前川 禎通; 齊藤 英治

Uchida, Kenichi*; Adachi, Hiroto; Kikuchi, Daisuke*; Ito, Shun*; Qiu, Z.*; Maekawa, Sadamichi; Saito, Eiji

Surface plasmons, free-electron collective oscillations in metallic nanostructures, provide abundant routes to manipulate light; electron interactions that can localize light energy and alter electromagnetic field distributions at subwavelength scales. The research field of plasmonics thus integrates nano-photonics with electronics. In contrast, electronics is also entering a new era of spintronics, where spin currents play a central role in driving devices. However, plasmonics and spin-current physics have so far been developed independently. Here we report the generation of spin currents by surface plasmon resonance. Using Au nanoparticles embedded in Pt/BiYFeO bilayer films, we show that, when the Au nanoparticles fulfill the surface-plasmon-resonance conditions, spin currents are generated across the Pt/BiYFeO interface.