Elliot-Yafet mechanism in graphene

Abstract

The differences between spin relaxation in graphene and in other materials are discussed. For relaxation by scattering processes, the Elliot-Yafet mechanism, the relation between the spin and the momentum scattering times acquires a dependence on the carrier density, which is independent of the scattering mechanism and the relation between mobility and carrier concentration. This dependence puts severe restrictions on the origin of the spin relaxation in graphene. The density dependence of the spin relaxation allows us to distinguish between ordinary impurities and defects which modify locally the spin-orbit interaction.