Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect in Cu1−xPtx

The spin Hall effect (SHE) is a means to electrically control the magnetization of a ferromagnet---one of the prime goals in spintronics. The most-studied material for exploiting the SHE is platinum, but in CMOS electronics the preferred metal is copper, which has a weak SHE. The authors show that Pt-Cu alloy with just 28% Pt can be as efficient as pure Pt at generating spin current. This alloy can also withstand high annealing temperatures, and thus can be readily incorporated into CMOS technology, nudging spintronics that much closer to widespread use.