A gate-variable spin current demultiplexer based on graphene

TL;DR

This paper introduces a graphene-based gate-variable spin current demultiplexer (GSDM) that enables electrical control of spin current distribution, facilitating reconfigurable spin logic circuits for advanced spintronics applications.

Contribution

It presents the design and realization of a GSDM using graphene, demonstrating electrical gating of spin transport properties for the first time in this context.

Findings

GSDM effectively controls spin current distribution in graphene.

D'yakonov-Perel relaxation mechanism enhances gate-tuning performance.

Potential applications include on-chip spin modulators and reconfigurable logic circuits.

Abstract

Spintronics, which utilizes spin as information carrier, is a promising solution for nonvolatile memory and low-power computing in the post-Moore era. An important challenge is to realize long distance spin transport, together with efficient manipulation of spin current for novel logic-processing applications. Here, we describe a gate-variable spin current demultiplexer (GSDM) based on graphene, serving as a fundamental building block of reconfigurable spin current logic circuits. The concept relies on electrical gating of carrier density dependent conductivity and spin diffusion length in graphene. As a demo, GSDM is realized for both single-layer and bilayer graphene. The distribution and propagation of spin current in the two branches of GSDM depend on spin relaxation characteristics of graphene. Compared with Elliot-Yafet spin relaxation mechanism, D'yakonov-Perel mechanism results in more appreciable gate-tuning performance. These unique features of GSDM would give rise to abundant spin logic applications, such as on-chip spin current modulators and reconfigurable spin logic circuits.