E-resources
Peer reviewed
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Okano, Genki; Matsuo, Mamoru; Ohnuma, Yuichi; Maekawa, Sadamichi; Nozaki, Yukio
Physical review letters, 2019-May-31, Volume: 122, Issue: 21Journal Article
We experimentally demonstrate the nonreciprocal generation of spin current (J_{s}) in a surface-oxidized copper film. The efficiency of conversion is at least 320 times larger than the inverse conversion. This nonreciprocity is due to a novel type of J_{s} generation, which relies on the transfer of angular momentum from the velocity field of free electrons. A gradient in the electrical mobility in the film produces vorticity in the in-plane drift velocity of the free electrons. The inverse process can hardly occur when J_{s} is collinear with the gradient in the electrical mobility.
