Measurement of electron spin transport in graphene on 6H-silicon carbide(0001)

The focus of this thesis is to demonstrate the potential of wafer scale graphene spintronics. Graphene is a single atomic layer of sp 2-bonded carbon atoms that has high carrier mobilities, making it a desirable material for future nanoscale electronic devices. The vision of spintronics is to utilize the spin of the electron to produce novel high-speed low power consuming devices. Materials with long spin relaxation times and spin diffusion lengths are needed to realize these goals. Graphene is an ideal material as it meets these requirements and is amenable to planar device geometries.;In this thesis, spin transport in wafer scale epitaxial graphene grown on the silicon face of silicon carbide is demonstrated. Non-local Hanle spin precession measurement devices were fabricated using graphene with and without a hafnium oxide interface layer between the ferromagnetic metal and graphene. The structural properties of the devices were investigated with Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectric spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrical properties of the graphene were measured utilizing Hall transport measurements. The magnetic properties of the contacts were investigated with vibrating sample magnetometery. The processes developed to fabricate the Hanle measurement devices are presented as well. A custom Hanle measurement setup was developed and utilized for the Hanle spin precession measurements.;Spin precession is observed in the epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide, with improved spin transport properties with the utilization of a hafnium oxide barrier between the ferromagnetic contacts and graphene. The charge transport and spin transport properties are compared to determine the relevant spin relaxation mechanism in the devices. These results demonstrate that graphene has great potential for wafer scale production of future spintronic devices.