# Giant Spin Lifetime Anisotropy in Graphene Induced by Proximity Effects

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how proximity effects from transition metal dichalcogenides induce giant spin lifetime anisotropy in graphene, revealing potential for advanced spintronic device design.

## Contribution

It provides first-principles based models quantifying spin lifetime anisotropy in graphene with TMDCs, highlighting the role of spin-valley locking and disorder.

## Key findings

- Anisotropy can reach hundreds with strong intervalley scattering
- Anisotropy reduces to 1/2 with weak disorder
- Spin-valley locking mediates the anisotropy

## Abstract

We report on fundamental aspects of spin dynamics in graphene interfaced with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). By using realistic models derived from first principles we compute the spin lifetime anisotropy, defined as the ratio of lifetimes for spins pointing out of the graphene plane to those pointing in the plane. In the presence of strong intervalley scattering the anisotropy can reach unprecedented values of tens to hundreds, while it reduces to 1/2 for weak disorder. This behavior is mediated by spin-valley locking, which is strong in TMDCs and is imprinted onto graphene. Such giant spin transport anisotropy, driven by proximity effects, provides an exciting paradigm for designing novel spin device functionalities.