Long spin relaxation times in wafer scale epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)

Abstract

We developed an easy, upscalable process to prepare lateral spin-valve devices on epitaxially grown monolayer graphene on SiC(0001) and perform nonlocal spin transport measurements. We observe the longest spin relaxation times τ S in monolayer graphene, while the spin diffusion coefficient D S is strongly reduced compared to typical results on exfoliated graphene. The increase of τ S is probably related to the changed substrate, while the cause for the small value of D S remains an open question. © 2012 American Chemical Society.