A magnetoresistance (MR) effect induced by the Rashba spin-orbit interaction was predicted, but not yet observed, in bilayers consisting of normal metal and ferromagnetic insulator. We present an experimental observation of this new type of spin-orbit MR (SOMR) effect in the Cu[Pt]/Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (YIG) bilayer structure, where the Cu/YIG interface is decorated with nanosize Pt islands. This new MR is apparently not caused by the bulk spin-orbit interaction because of the negligible spin-orbit interaction in Cu and the discontinuity of the Pt islands. This SOMR disappears when the Pt islands are absent or located away from the Cu/YIG interface; therefore, we can unambiguously ascribe it to the Rashba spin-orbit interaction at the interface enhanced by the Pt decoration. The numerical Boltzmann simulations are consistent with the experimental SOMR results in the angular dependence of magnetic field and the Cu thickness dependence. Our finding demonstrates the realization of the spin manipulation by interface engineering.

中文翻译：

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磁绝缘子上金属薄膜中自旋轨道磁阻的观察。

在由普通金属和铁磁绝缘体组成的双层中，预测但尚未观察到由Rashba自旋轨道相互作用引起的磁阻（MR）效应。我们目前在Cu [Pt] / Y ₃ Fe ₅ O _12中对这种新型自旋轨道MR（SOMR）效应的实验观察（YIG）双层结构，其中Cu / YIG界面装饰有纳米级的Pt岛。这种新的MR显然不是由整体自旋轨道相互作用引起的，因为Cu中的自旋轨道相互作用可忽略不计以及Pt岛的不连续性。当Pt岛不存在或远离Cu / YIG界面时，此SOMR消失。因此，我们可以明确地将其归因于由Pt装饰增强的界面处的Rashba自旋轨道相互作用。玻尔兹曼数值模拟与实验SOMR结果在磁场角度依赖性和Cu厚度依赖性方面是一致的。我们的发现证明了通过接口工程实现自旋操作。