Long Spin Relaxation Times in Wafer Scale Epitaxial Graphene on SiC(0001)

We developed an easy, upscalable process to prepare lateral spin-valve devices on epitaxially grown monolayer graphene on SiC(0001) and perform nonlocal spin transport measurements. We observe the longest spin relaxation times tau(s) in monolayer graphene, while the spin diffusion coefficient D-s is strongly reduced compared to typical results on exfoliated graphene. The increase of tau(s) is probably related to the changed substrate, while the cause for the small value of D-s remains an open question.