Ferromagnetic Resonance Spin Pumping and Electrical Spin Injection in Silicon-Based Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Heterostructures.

We present the measurement of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR-)driven spin pumping and three-terminal electrical spin injection within the same silicon-based device. Both effects manifest in a dc spin accumulation voltage V_{s} that is suppressed as an applied field is rotated to the out-of-plane direction, i.e., the oblique Hanle geometry. Comparison of V_{s} between these two spin injection mechanisms reveals an anomalously strong suppression of FMR-driven spin pumping with increasing out-of-plane field H_{app}^{z}. We propose that the presence of the large ac component to the spin current generated by the spin pumping approach, expected to exceed the dc value by 2 orders of magnitude, is the origin of this discrepancy through its influence on the spin dynamics at the oxide-silicon interface. This convolution, wherein the dynamics of both the injector and the interface play a significant role in the spin accumulation, represents a new regime for spin injection that is not well described by existing models of either FMR-driven spin pumping or electrical spin injection.

Tunneling spin injection into single layer graphene.

We achieve tunneling spin injection from Co into single layer graphene (SLG) using TiO2 seeded MgO barriers. A nonlocal magnetoresistance (ΔR(NL)) of 130 Ω is observed at room temperature, which is the largest value observed in any material. Investigating ΔR(NL) vs SLG conductivity from the transparent to the tunneling contact regimes demonstrates the contrasting behaviors predicted by the drift-diffusion theory of spin transport. Furthermore, tunnel barriers reduce the contact-induced spin relaxation and are therefore important for future investigations of spin relaxation in graphene.

Oscillatory spin polarization and magneto-optical Kerr effect in Fe3O4 thin films on GaAs(001).

The spin dependent properties of epitaxial Fe3O4 thin films on GaAs(001) are studied by the ferromagnetic proximity polarization (FPP) effect and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). Both FPP and MOKE show oscillations with respect to Fe3O4 film thickness, and the oscillations are large enough to induce repeated sign reversals. We attribute the oscillatory behavior to spin-polarized quantum well states forming in the Fe3O4 film. Quantum confinement of the t(2g) states near the Fermi level provides an explanation for the similar thickness dependences of the FPP and MOKE oscillations.

Manipulation of spin transport in graphene by surface chemical doping.

The effects of surface chemical doping on spin transport in graphene are investigated by performing nonlocal measurements in ultrahigh vacuum while depositing gold adsorbates. We demonstrate manipulation of the gate-dependent nonlocal spin signal as a function of gold coverage. We discover that charged impurity scattering is not the dominant mechanism for spin relaxation in graphene, despite its importance for momentum scattering. Finally, unexpected enhancements of the spin lifetime illustrate the complex nature of spin relaxation in graphene.

Anisotropic dependence of superconductivity on uniaxial pressure in CeIrIn5.

We measure the effect of uniaxial pressure on the superconducting transition temperature T_{c} in CeIrIn5. We find a linear change in T_{c} with both a-axis and c-axis pressure, with slopes of 56 and -66 mK/kbar, respectively. By comparing results from doping studies and different types of pressure measurements, we separate the influences of hybridization and dimensionality on T_{c}. We find the true geometric influence, for constant hybridization, is partial differentialT_{c}/ partial differential(c/a)=44 K.