Spin Dynamics and Relaxation in Graphene Dictated by Electron-hole Puddles

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates spin relaxation mechanisms in ultraclean graphene, revealing how substrate-induced electron-hole puddles influence spin lifetimes and relaxation processes, with implications for graphene spintronic device performance.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of spin relaxation in graphene considering different substrates and electron-hole puddles, highlighting a crossover in relaxation mechanisms.

Findings

Spin lifetimes range from 50 ps to several ns.

Crossover from Dyakonov-Perel to dephasing relaxation mechanisms.

Spin dynamics depend on substrate and disorder levels.

Abstract

The understanding of spin dynamics and relaxation mechanisms in clean graphene and the upper time and length scales on which spin devices can operate are prerequisites to realizing graphene spintronic technologies. Here we theoretically reveal the nature of fundamental spin relaxation mechanisms in clean graphene on different substrates with spin-orbit Rashba fields as low as a few tens of micron eV. Spin lifetimes ranging from 50 picoseconds up to several nanoseconds are found to be dictated by substrate-induced electron-hole characteristics. A crossover in the spin relaxation mechanism from a Dyakonov-Perel type for SiO2 substrates to a broadening-induced dephasing for hBN substrates is described. The energy dependence of spin lifetimes, their ratio for spins pointing out-of-plane and in-plane, and the scaling with disorder provide a global picture about spin dynamics and relaxation in ultraclean graphene in presence of electron-hole puddles.