Observation of long spin-relaxation times in bilayer graphene at room temperature

Abstract

We report on the first systematic study of spin transport in bilayer graphene (BLG) as a function of mobility, minimum conductivity, charge density, and temperature. The spin-relaxation time τs scales inversely with the mobility μ of BLG samples both at room temperature (RT) and at low temperature (LT). This indicates the importance of D'yakonov-Perel' spin scattering in BLG. Spin-relaxation times of up to 2ns at RT are observed in samples with the lowest mobility. These times are an order of magnitude longer than any values previously reported for single-layer graphene (SLG). We discuss the role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that could lead to the dominance of D'yakonov-Perel' spin scattering in BLG. In comparison to SLG, significant changes in the carrier density dependence of τs are observed as a function of temperature. © 2011 American Physical Society.