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We intercalate a van der Waals heterostructure of graphene and hexagonal Boron Nitride with Au, by encapsulation, and show that Au at the interface is two dimensional. A charge transfer upon current annealing indicates redistribution of Au and induces splitting of the graphene bandstructure. The effect of in plane magnetic field confirms that splitting is due to spin-splitting and that spin polarization is in the plane, characteristic of a Rashba interaction with magnitude approximately 25 meV. Consistent with the presence of intrinsic interfacial electric field we show that the splitting can be enhanced by an applied displacement field in dual gated samples. Giant negative magnetoresistance, up to 75%, and a field induced anomalous Hall effect at magnetic fields < 1 T are observed. These demonstrate that hybridized Au has a magnetic moment and suggests the proximity to formation of a collective magnetic phase. These effects persist close to room temperature.

Monolayers of group 6 transition metal dichalcogenides are promising candidates for future spin-, valley-, and charge-based applications. Quantum transport in these materials reflects a complex interplay between real spin and pseudo-spin (valley) relaxation processes, which leads to either positive or negative quantum correction to the classical conductivity. Here we report experimental observation of a crossover from weak localization to weak anti-localization in highly n-doped monolayer MoS2. We show that the crossover can be explained by a single parameter associated with electron spin lifetime of the system. We find that the spin lifetime is inversely proportional to momentum relaxation time, indicating that spin relaxation occurs via Dyakonov-Perel mechanism., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We present a study of dynamical spin injection from a three-dimensional ferromagnet into two-dimensional single-layer graphene. Comparative ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) studies of ferromagnet/graphene strips buried underneath the central line of a coplanar waveguide show that the FMR linewidth broadening is the largest when the graphene layer protrudes laterally away from the ferromagnetic strip, indicating that the spin current is injected into the graphene areas away from the area directly underneath the ferromagnet being excited. Our results confirm that the observed damping is indeed a signature of dynamical spin injection, wherein a pure spin current is pumped into the single-layer graphene from the precessing magnetization of the ferromagnet. The observed spin pumping efficiency is difficult to reconcile with the expected backflow of spins according to the standard spin pumping theory and the characteristics of graphene, and constitutes an enigma for spin pumping in two-dimensional structures.

The scattering of two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions from local spin-orbit interactions with an origin in dilute concentrations of physisorbed atomic species on graphene is theoretically investigated. The hybridization between graphene and the adatoms' orbitals lifts spin and valley degeneracies of the pristine host material, giving rise to rich spin-orbit coupling mechanisms with features determined by the exact adsorption position on the honeycomb lattice - bridge, hollow or top position - and the adatoms' outer-shell orbital type. Effective graphene-only Hamiltonians are derived from symmetry considerations, while a microscopic tight-binding approach connects effective low-energy couplings and graphene-adatom hybridization parameters. Within the $T$-matrix formalism, a theory for (spin-dependent) scattering events involving graphene's charge carriers, and the spin-orbit active adatoms is developed. Spin currents associated with intravalley and intervalley scattering are found to tend to oppose each other. We establish that under certain conditions, hollow-position adatoms give rise to the spin Hall effect, through skew scattering, while top-position adatoms induce transverse charge currents via trigonal potential scattering. We also identify the critical Fermi energy range where the spin Hall effect is dramatically enhanced, and the associated transverse spin currents can be reversed., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Published version: minor text revisions + new references added

We demonstrate dynamic spin injection into chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene by spin pumping from permalloy (Py) layers. Ferromagnetic resonance measurements at room temperature reveal a strong enhancement of the Gilbert damping at the Py/graphene interface, exceeding that observed in even Py/platinum interfaces. Similar results are also shown on Co/graphene layers. This enhancement in the Gilbert damping is understood as the consequence of spin pumping at the interface driven by magnetization dynamics. Our observations suggest a strong enhancement of spin-orbit coupling in CVD graphene, in agreement with earlier spin valve measurements., Comment: 13 pages and 3 figures

Spin transfer torque-induced high-frequency dynamics of single thin cobalt-layer nanopillars of circular and elliptical shape have been observed directly. Two types of precessional modes can be identified as a function of magnetic field perpendicular to the layer plane, excited for negative current polarity only. They are assigned to vortex-core and transverse spin-wave excitations, which corroborate recent model predictions. The observed narrow linewidth of 4 MHz at room temperature indicates the high coherence of the magnetic excitations., Comment: 10 pages, 3 fihures

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 $\tau_s$ scales inversely with the mobility $\mu$ of BLG samples both at room temperature and at low temperature. This indicates the importance of D'yakonov - Perel' spin scattering in BLG. Spin relaxation times of up to 2 ns 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 density dependence of $\tau_s$ are observed as a function of temperature., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, includes supplementary information, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

Focused-ion-beam milling is used to fabricate nanostencil masks suitable for the fabrication of magnetic nanostructures relevant for spin transfer torque studies. Nanostencil masks are used to define the device dimensions prior to the growth of the thin film stack. They consist of a wet etch resistant top layer and an insulator on top of a pre-patterned bottom electrode. The insulator supports a hard mask and gives rise to an undercut by its selective etching. The approach is demonstrated by fabricating current perpendicular to the plane Co/Cu/Co nanopillar junctions, which exhibit current-induced magnetization dynamics., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, submitted to APL

Current-induced magnetic excitations in Co/Cu/Co bilayer nanopillars ($\sim$50 nm in diameter) have been studied experimentally at low temperatures for large applied fields perpendicular to the layers. At sufficiently high current densities excitations, which lead to a decrease in differential resistance, are observed for both current polarities. Such bipolar excitations are not expected in a single domain model of spin-transfer. We propose that at high current densities strong asymmetries in the longitudinal spin accumulation cause spin-wave instabilities transverse to the current direction in bilayer samples, similar to those we have reported for single magnetic layer junctions., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures+ 2 additional jpg figures (Fig. 2d and Fig. 3) high resolution figures and recent related articles are available at: http://www.physics.nyu.edu/kentlab/news.html

We present a method to measure the effective field contribution to spin-transfer-induced interactions between the magnetic layers in a trilayer nanostructure, which enables spin-current effects to be distinguished from the usual charge-current-induced magnetic fields. This technique is demonstrated on submicron Co/Cu/Co nanopillars. The hysteresis loop of one of the magnetic layers in the trilayer is measured as a function of current while the direction of magnetization of the other layer is kept fixed, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. These measurements show a current-dependent shift of the hysteresis loop which, based on the symmetry of the magnetic response, we associate with spin-transfer. The observed loop-shift with applied current at room temperature is reduced in measurements at 4.2 K. We interprete these results both in terms of a spin-current dependent effective activation barrier for magnetization reversal and a spin-current dependent effective magnetic field. From data at 4.2 K we estimate the magnitude of the spin-transfer induced effective field to be $\sim 1.5 \times 10^{-7} $ Oe cm$^2$/A, about a factor of 5 less than the spin-transfer torque., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Current-induced magnetic excitations in Cu/Co/Cu single layer nanopillars (~50 nm in diameter) have been studied experimentally as a function of Co layer thickness at low temperatures for large applied fields perpendicular to the layers. For asymmetric junctions current induced excitations are observed at high current densities for only one polarity of the current and are absent at the same current densities in symmetric junctions. These observations confirm recent predictions of spin-transfer torque induced spin wave excitations in single layer junctions with a strong asymmetry in the spin accumulation in the leads., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

Current-induced magnetization dynamics in Co/Cu/Co trilayer nanopillars (~100nm in diameter) has been studied experimentally for large applied fields perpendicular to the layers. An abrupt and hysteretic increase in dynamic resistance is observed at high current densities for one polarity of the current, comparable to the giant magnetoresistance effect observed at low fields. A micromagnetic model, that includes a spin-transfer torque, suggests that the current induces a complete reversal of the thin Co layer to alignment antiparallel to the applied field-that is, to a state of maximum magnetic energy., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, (submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.), added missing figure caption of fig. 3, updated to published version

The lateral photovoltage generated in the plane of a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) by a focused light spot, exhibits a fine-structure in the quantum oscillations in a magnetic field near the Quantum Hall conductivity minima. A double peak structure occurs near the minima of the longitudinal conductivity oscillations. This is the characteristic signature of the interplay between screening and Landau quantization., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B