Local magnetoresistance in Fe/MgO/Si lateral spin valve at room temperature

Room temperature local magnetoresistance in two-terminal scheme is reported. By employing 1.6 nm-thick MgO tunnel barrier, spin injection efficiency is increased, resulting in large non-local magnetoresistance. The magnitude of the non-local magnetoresistance is estimated to be 0.0057 Omega at room temperature. As a result, a clear rectangle signal is observed in local magnetoresistance measurement even at room temperature. We also investigate the origin of local magnetoresistance by measuring the spin accumulation voltage of each contact separately. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.