Spin Seebeck Effect in Correlated Antiferromagnetic V2O3

Abstract

The spin Seebeck effect is useful for probing the spin correlations and magnetic order in magnetic insulators. Here, we report a strong longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in antiferromagnetic V2O3 thin films. The LSSE response at cryogenic temperatures increases as a function of the external magnetic field until it approaches saturation. The response at given power and field exhibits a non-monotonic temperature dependence, with a pronounced peak that shifts toward higher temperatures as the field increases. Furthermore, the magnitude of the LSSE signal decreases consistently with increasing thickness, implying that the bulk SSE dominates any interfacial contribution. This negative correlation between the SSE and the thickness implies that the magnon energy relaxation length in V2O3 is shorter than the thickness of our thinnest film, 50 nm, consistent with the strong spin-lattice coupling in this material.