Spin injection and detection in all-van der Waals 2D devices

Abstract

In this work we report efficient out-of-plane spin injection and detection in an all-van der Waals based heterostructure using only exfoliated 2D materials. We demonstrate spin injection by measuring spin-valve and Hanle signals in non-local transport in a stack of Fe$_3$GeTe$_2$ (FGT), hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and graphene layers. FGT flakes form the spin aligning electrodes necessary to inject and detect spins in the graphene channel. The hBN tunnel barrier provides a high-quality interface between the ferromagnetic electrodes and graphene, eliminating the conductivity mismatch problem, thus ensuring efficient spin injection and detection with spin injection efficiencies of up to $P=40$\%. Our results demonstrate that FGT/hBN/graphene heterostructures form a promising platform for realizing 2D van der Waals spintronic devices.