Temperature dependence of spin polarization in ferromagnetic metals using lateral spin valves

Abstract

Spin injection properties of ferromagnetic metals are studied and are compared by using highly reproducible cobalt/copper and permalloy/copper lateral spin valves (LSVs) with transparent contacts, fabricated with a careful control of the interface and the purity of copper. Spin polarization of permalloy and cobalt are obtained as a function of temperature. Analysis of the temperature dependence of both the spin polarization and the conductivity of permalloy confirms that the two-channel model for ferromagnetic metals is valid to define the current spin polarization and shows that a correction factor of ∼2 is needed for the values obtained by LSV experiments. The spin transport properties of copper, which also are studied as a function of temperature, are not affected by the used ferromagnetic material. The low-temperature maximum in the spin-diffusion length of copper is attributed to the presence of diluted magnetic impurities intrinsic from the copper.