Electrical measurement of the Spin Hall Effect isotropy in a ferromagnet

Abstract

The spin-dependent transport properties of paramagnetic metals are roughly invariant under rotation. By contrast, in ferromagnetic materials the magnetization breaks the rotational symmetry, and thus the spin Hall effect is expected to become anisotropic. Here, using a specific design of lateral spin valves, we measure electrically the spin Hall Effect anisotropy in NiCu and NiPd, both in their ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. We show that the appearance of the ferromagnetic order does not lead to a sizeable anisotropy of the spin charge interconversion in these materials.