Anisotropic intrinsic spin relaxation in graphene due to flexural distortions
arXiv:1202.6216 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.88.115426
Abstract
We propose an intrinsic spin scattering mechanism in graphene originated by the interplay of atomic spin-orbit interaction and the local curvature induced by flexural distortions of the atomic lattice. Starting from a multiorbital tight-binding Hamiltonian with spin-orbit coupling considered non-perturbatively, we derive an effective Hamiltonian for the spin scattering of the Dirac electrons due to flexural distortions. We compute the spin lifetime due to both flexural phonons and ripples and we find values in the microsecond range at room temperature. Interestingly, this mechanism is anisotropic on two counts. First, the relaxation rate is different for off-plane and in-plane spin quantization axis. Second, the spin relaxation rate depends on the angle formed by the crystal momentum with the carbon-carbon bond. In addition, the spin lifetime is also valley dependent. The proposed mechanism sets an upper limit for spin lifetimes in graphene and will be relevant when samples of high quality can be fabricated free of extrinsic sources of spin relaxation.
extended version with 7 pages, 4 figures and several new results; a numerical error has been corrected leading to longer spin lifetimes than in the previous version
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- Spin memory and spin-lattice relaxation in two-dimensional hexagonal crystals
- Electrical spin manipulation in graphene nanostructures
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- Suppression of decoherence in a graphene monolayer ring
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- Path integral Monte Carlo on a lattice: extended states
- Quantum spin Hall phase in multilayer graphene
- Upper limit of spin relaxation in suspended graphene
- Anomalous Transition Magnetic Moments in two-dimensional Dirac Materials