Exploring new spintronics device functionalities in graphene heterostructures

Graphene Flagship researchers including from the ICN2 have shown in a paper published in Science Advances how heterostructures built from graphene and topological insulators have strong, proximity induced spin-orbit coupling which can form the basis of novel information processing technologies.

Scanning Electron Microscope micrograph of a fabricated device showing the graphene topological insulator heterostructure channel. Credit: Dmitrii Khokhriakov, Chalmers University of Technology

Spin-orbit coupling is at the heart of spintronics. Graphene’s spin-orbit coupling and high electron mobility make it appealing for long spin coherence length at room temperature. Graphene Flagship researchers from Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ICN2 (Spain), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) and ICREA Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (Spain) showed a strong tunability and suppression of the spin signal and spin lifetime in heterostructures formed by graphene and topological insulators. This can lead to new graphene spintronic applications, ranging from novel circuits to new non-volatile memories and information processing technologies.