Chinese Physics B ( IF 1.5 ) Pub Date : 2021-02-09 , DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/abbbef Peng Wang 1 , Hui Zhao 2 , Zhongzhi Luan 2 , Siyu Xia 2 , Tao Feng 2 , Lifan Zhou 2
The spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) effect in Pt/Gd3Fe5O12 (GdIG) bilayers was systematically investigated. The sign of SMR changes twice with increasing magnetic field in the vicinity of the magnetization compensation point (T M) of GdIG. However, conventional SMR theory predicts the invariant SMR sign in the heterostructure composed of a heavy metal film in contact with a ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic film. We conclude that this is because of the significant enhancement of the magnetic moment of the Gd sub-lattice and the unchanged moment of the Fe sub-lattice with a relatively large field, meaning that a small net magnetic moment is induced at T M. As a result, the Nel vector aligns with the field after the spin-flop transition, meaning that a bi-reorientation of the Nel vector is produced. Theoretical calculations based on the Nel’s theory and SMR theory also support our conclusions. Our findings indicate that the Nel-vector direction of a ferrimagnet can be tuned across a wide range by a relatively low external field around T M.