  The spin-orbit interaction enables interconversion between a charge current
and a spin current. It is usually believed that in a nonmagnetic metal (NM) or
at a NM/ferromagnetic metal (FM) bilayer interface, the symmetry of spin-orbit
effects (SOE) requires that the spin current, charge current and spin
orientation are all orthogonal to each other. Here we show the observation of a
SOE near the NM/FM interface that exhibits a very different symmetry from the
conventional spin Hall effect, insofar as the spin polarization is further
rotated about the magnetization. These results imply that a perpendicularly
polarized spin current can be generated with an in-plane charge current simply
by use of a FM/NM bilayer with magnetization collinear to the charge current.
The ability to generate a spin current with arbitrary polarization using
typical magnetic materials will greatly benefit the development of magnetic
memories.

Materials Science