ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an excellent introduction to graphene in the context of its significance to spintronics. It discusses in detail the technological, experimental, and conceptual aspects of spin transport and spin dynamics in graphene field-effect transistors with ferromagnetic injector and detector contacts. The chapter describes the effects related to spin transport in graphene. The Fermi level can be raised or lowered by electrostatic gating to charge the graphene with electrons or holes at a carrier density n, creating a field-effect transistor type device. Spin transport in graphene was measured at several research labs with slightly different approaches and results. The simplest lateral device geometry to detect spin transport electrically is a two-terminal spin valve where the graphene is contacted by two ferromagnetic electrodes. In the diffusive transport regime, direct electrical spin injection from a ferromagnetic metal into high-impedance materials like graphene is hindered by the conductance mismatch problem.
