Spin relaxation in Cu and Al spin conduits

We study the spin relaxation in Al and Cu spin conduits embedded in non-local spin valve nanostructures. Measuring the key spin transport properties, we determine the spin and charge diffusion constants as well as the spin flip time. By varying the temperature, we find that the maximum of the non-local spin resistance change occurs at finite temperatures with a clear difference between Al and Cu. In particular, we find that the maximum of the non-local spin signal in Al is less pronounced and occurs at lower temperatures compared to Cu suggesting that the self-passivating Al surface plays a role. Having fabricated devices with both materials in identical processes, we can attribute the diff…