Effect of the low-resistance tunnel barriers induced inhomogeneous spin current distribution in graphene crossed configuration lateral spin valve

• Main Authors: Yanping Liu, Cheng Zeng, Junnan Ding, Jiahong Zhong, Yuanji Gao, Xiaofei Kuang, Juan Yu, Lingkai Cao, Jun He, Zongwen Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2019-11-01
• Series: AIP Advances
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.5088200

The nonlocal spin valve configuration consists of two ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic channels, which is an effective configuration for determining spin injection and accumulation. Here, we report that a reversed nonlocal spin signal was detected by changing the voltage probe configurations in graphene (Py/MgO/graphene/MgO/Py) lateral spin valves. The abnormal reversed spin-dependent nonlocal voltage is attributed to the nonuniform pinhole at the interface of the low-resistance tunnel barrier, which makes the charge current flow through the detection electrode and return to the graphene channel. We demonstrate that the channel-width induced spin-polarized current inhomogeneity significantly contributes to nonlocal resistance. A detailed description and simulated results of the tunnel junctions provide evidence for the reversal of the nonlocal voltage sign induced by the low-resistance tunnel barriers. Our work sheds light on the understanding of the spatial distribution of the spin current and the effect of the tunnel barrier, which are essential for the development of spintronic devices.