Quantitative investigation of the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect in Bi/Ag and Ag/Bi on YIG

Abstract

The inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect (IREE) is a spin conversion mechanism that recently attracts attention in spintronics and condensed matter physics. In this letter, we report an investigation of the IREE in Bi/Ag by using ferrimagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG). We prepared two types of samples with opposite directions of the Rashba field by changing a stacking order of Bi and Ag. An electric current generated by the IREE was observed from both stacks, and an efficiency of spin conversion -characterized by the IREE length- was estimated by taking into account a number of contributions left out in previous studies. This study provides a further insight into the IREE spin conversion mechanism: important step towards achieving efficient spin-charge conversion devices.