Spin polarization of the electric current in half-metallic Co 2 MnSi Heusler thin films

Using propagating spin wave spectroscopy we measure the spin wave Doppler shift in patterned MgO/ Co 2 MnSi / MgO thin films and determine the degree of spin polarization of the electric current. Our measurements reveal that the current is fully spin polarized in the devices. This shows that the half-metallic character of the electron band structure translates into a fully spin polarized current flowing across the patterned films. Additionally, we measure a current-induced change of the spin-wave attenuation from which we estimate the nonadiabatic spin-transfer-torque parameter.