Spin dynamics in heterostructures composed of ferroelectric van der Waals semiconductors and graphene

Abstract

Spintronics is a field that harnesses the spin degree of freedom of electrons to store, process, and transmit information. Van der Waals heterostructures combining graphene and high spin orbit coupling 2D materials are a promising platform to control spin transport, where proximity-induced effects change the behaviour of spin relaxation in graphene giving rise to spin lifetime anisotropy. In this work we study devices made of graphene and CuInP2S6 (CIPS), demonstrated to be a ferroelectric material in the few layers limit, with the goal of controlling spin transport properties in graphene by means of electric fields. We demonstrate that charge transport in graphene can be tuned by altering the ferroelectric state of CIPS, and we observe spin-lifetime anisotropy in graphene. Furthermore, we explore the potential of controlling the strength of this anisotropy through ferroelectric modulation