Enhancing Sunlight Control of Interfacial Magnetism by Introducing the ZnO Layer for Electron Harvesting

Recently, researchers have developed photovoltaic (PV) control of magnetism to provide a new way of manipulating spin states in an energy-effective manner, where the capability of magnetism manipulation is crucial. Here, we established a PV heterostructure of Pt/PV/ZnO/Co/Si to realize sunlight control of magnetism, where the ZnO layer is introduced to enhance the electron transportation as well as the interfacial optical-electromagnetic tunability. Compared to the PV heterostructure without the ZnO layer (245 Oe), a much greater ferromagnetic resonance shift (1149 Oe) and a saturated magnetization reduction (12.7%) were obtained with the optimal ZnO inserting layer under sunlight illumination. These results prove that the ZnO layer plays a key role in optimizing magnetic manipulation and opening a door toward PV spintronics in the future.