Role of MgO barriers for spin and charge transport in Co/MgO/graphene nonlocal spin-valve devices

Abstract

We investigate spin and charge transport in both single and bilayer graphene non-local spin-valve devices. Similar to previous studies on bilayer graphene, we observe an inverse dependence of the spin lifetime on the carrier mobility in our single layer devices. This general trend is only observed in devices with large contact resistances. Furthermore, we observe a second Dirac peak in devices with long spin lifetimes. This results from charge transport underneath the contacts. In contrast, all devices with low ohmic contact resistances only exhibit a single Dirac peak. Additionally, the spin lifetime is significantly reduced indicating that an additional spin dephasing occurs underneath the electrodes.