Spin injection in NiFe/Au/NiFe spin valves

We have investigated the electrical spin injection and accumulation in lateral spin valve devices composed of Ni81Fe19 as ferromagnetic injector and detector, and Au as a spin transmitting channel. With various edge-to-edge separations between spin injector and detector, our device geometry enables us to experimentally investigate spin valve effects for both the local and non-local measurement configurations. The measurements yield a spin diffusion length of 85 nm at 15 K in the Au channel. The spin valve signals decrease as the temperature increases. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.