Spin pumping during the antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition of iron–rhodium

FeRh attracts intensive interest in antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics due to its first-order phase transition between the AFM and ferromagnetic (FM) phase, which is unique for exploring spin dynamics in coexisting phases. Here, we report lateral spin pumping by which angular momentum is transferred from FM domains into the AFM matrix during the phase transition of ultrathin FeRh films. In addition, FeRh is verified to be both an efficient spin generator and an efficient spin sink, by electrically probing vertical spin pumping from FM-FeRh into Pt and from Py into FeRh, respectively. A dramatic enhancement of damping related to AFM-FeRh is observed during the phase transition, which we prove to be dominated by lateral spin pumping across the FM/AFM interface. The discovery of lateral spin pumping provides insight into the spin dynamics of magnetic thin films with mixed-phases, and the significantly modulated damping advances its potential applications, such as ultrafast spintronics.