Inverse spin valve effect in multilayer graphene device

Abstract

We report the gate-voltage dependence of the spin transport in multilayer graphene (MLG) studied experimentally by the local measurement. The sample consists of a Ni/MLG/Ni junction, where the thickness of the MLG is 9 nm and the spacing of two Ni electrodes is 300 nm. At zero gate voltage, we observed the normal spin valve effect, in which the resistance for the antiparallel alignment of magnetization in ferromagnetic electrodes is larger than that for the parallel alignment. By applying a large gate voltage, on the other hand, the spin valve effect is reversed: the resistance for the antiparallel alignment becomes smaller than that for the parallel alignment. The result is qualitatively interpreted as a quantum interference effect, indicating that the mean free path and the spin relaxation length of the MLG are longer than the electrode spacing (300 nm). © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.