ZnO/Ni interface-activated enhancement of spintronic terahertz emission from Ni/Pt bilayers

@misc{xu2026znoni,
  title = {{ZnO/Ni interface-activated enhancement of spintronic terahertz emission from Ni/Pt bilayers}},
  author = {Jia Xu and Shaohua Zhang and Xianguo Jiang and Lei Hao and Yaxuan Jin and Ning Yang and Yao Wang and Tong Fu and Hao Meng and Chao Lu and Wendeng Huang and Chao Zhou},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.36889},
  eprint = {2610.36889},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36889},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - ZnO/Ni interface-activated enhancement of spintronic terahertz emission from Ni/Pt bilayers
AU  - Jia Xu
AU  - Shaohua Zhang
AU  - Xianguo Jiang
AU  - Lei Hao
AU  - Yaxuan Jin
AU  - Ning Yang
AU  - Yao Wang
AU  - Tong Fu
AU  - Hao Meng
AU  - Chao Lu
AU  - Wendeng Huang
AU  - Chao Zhou
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/27
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.36889
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36889
AB  - Spintronic terahertz (THz) emitters based on ferromagnet/heavy-metal bilayers provide an efficient route for generating broadband THz radiation through ultrafast spin-to-charge conversion. However, Ni/Pt bilayers usually exhibit relatively weak THz emission, limiting their use as efficient spintronic emitters. Here, we report an interface-assisted enhancement of THz emission in ZnO/Ni/Pt heterostructures. By placing ZnO underneath Ni while preserving the direct Ni/Pt contact, the THz amplitude is increased by up to approximately 2.8 times compared with the Ni/Pt reference. The enhanced emission reverses polarity with the magnetic field and follows the expected angular dependence of ultrafast spin-to-charge conversion. ZnO-, Ni-, and Pt-thickness-dependent measurements show that the emission remains governed by the Ni/Pt conversion process but is strongly affected by the ZnO/Ni bottom interface. Control samples with Al2O3, Cu, and Fe further exclude a simple underlayer, optical, or growth-quality origin. The enhancement is attributed to a short-range ZnO/Ni interface effect, possibly involving oxygen-related defects, interfacial electric fields, and modification of the Ni interfacial state. This work provides a semiconductor/ferromagnet interface-engineering strategy for activating weak Ni/Pt spintronic THz emitters.
ER  -