Add spintronics to graphene with proximity

Researchers from CIC nanoGune in Spain have made a 2D spintronics device using graphene modified by the fields of nearby materials – a so called proximitised structure.

In this case, it is a graphene spin valve enabled by nearby shapes of Cr₂Ge₂Te₆, a van der Waals magnet.

Graphene can transport spin and, with this proximity modification, can generate and detect spins by acquiring spin-orbit coupling or magnetic exchange coupling.

“This leads to spin generation by both electrical spin injection and the spin Hall effect, while retaining spin transport,” according to a paper written on this work. “The simultaneous presence of spin-orbit coupling and magnetic exchange coupling also leads to a sizeable anomalous Hall effect.”

And, as it is a single graphene layer, there are no hard interfaces to disrupt spins.

Find the research in ‘A seamless graphene spin valve based on proximity to van der Waals magnet Cr₂Ge₂Te₆‘, published in Nature Electronics (abstract only available without payment.

NanoGune is a cooperative research center (or ‘CIC’ – Centro de Investigación Cooperativa), launched by the Basque Government as a framework for strategic research cooperation and intellectual property transfer to industry.

On this project, it worked with Laboratoire Albert Fert (France), UPV/EHU (Basque), Donostia International Physics Center (Basque), IMEC (Belgium) and Beihang University (China).