Long range pure magnon spin diffusion observed in a non-local spin-Seebeck geometry

The spin diffusion length for thermally excited magnon spins is measured by utilizing a non-local spin-Seebeck effect measurement. In a bulk single crystal of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) a focused laser thermally excites magnon spins. The spins diffuse laterally and are sampled using a Pt inverse spin Hall effect detector. Thermal transport modeling and temperature dependent measurements demonstrate the absence of spurious temperature gradients beneath the Pt detector and confirm the non-local nature of the experimental geometry. Remarkably, we find that thermally excited magnon spins in YIG travel over 120 $μ$m at 23 K, indicating that they are robust against inelastic scattering. The spin diffusion length is found to be at least 47 $μ$m and as high as 73 $μ$m at 23 K in YIG, while at room temperature it drops to less than 10 $μ$m. Based on this long spin diffusion length, we envision the development of thermally powered spintronic devices based on electrically insulating, but spin conducting materials.