Proximity induced room temperature ferromagnetism in graphene probed with spin currents
We present a direct measurement of the exchange interaction in room temperature ferromagnetic graphene. We study the spin transport in exfoliated graphene on an yttrium-iron-garnet substrate where the observed spin precession clearly indicates the presence and strength of an exchange field that is an unambiguous evidence of induced ferromagnetism. We describe the results with a modified Bloch diffusion equation and extract an average exchange field of the order of 0.2 T. Further, we demonstrate that a proximity induced 2D ferromagnet can efficiently modulate a spin current by controlling the direction of the exchange field. These findings can create a building block for magnetic-gate tuneable spin transport in one-atom-thick spintronic devices.