Researchers from the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) demonstrated metallic spin filtering at room temperatures, using a ferromagnet-graphene-ferromagnet thin film junction device.

Spin filtering has been theoretically predicted, and previously seen only for high-resistance structures at cryogenic temperatures. This is the first time that someone demonstrated the effect in room temperatures, and with very low resistance in arrays of multiple devices.

Researchers from Grennole Alpes University in France have demonstrated using atomistic calculations that a lateral electric field can be used to tune the carrier mobility and change the spin polarization of the current driving through zigzag graphene ribbons. The researchers say that these effects can be nicely exploited in spintronics devices.

The calculations predict a high variation of the carrier mobility, mean free path and spin polarization in the ZGNRs. It turns out that configurations with almost 100% spin-polarized current can be switched on and off.

The Graphene Flagship, the $1 billion EU graphene research initiative, includes a Spintronics Work Package - the aims to explore graphene's role in spintronics.

• HiMagGraphene: Atomic-scale control of graphene magnetism using hydrogen atoms
• iSpinText: Induced Spin Textures in van der Waals Heterostructures
• SOgraph: Tailoring Spin-Orbit effects in Graphene for spin-orbitronic applications
• TAILSPIN: Tailoring spin-interactions in graphene nanoribbons for ballistic fully spin-polarized devices
• Trans2DTMD: Theoretical investigation of electronic transport in functionalized 2D transition metal dichalcogenides

Researchers have succeeded, for the first time, in producing graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with perfect zigzag edges. Electrons on these zigzag edges exhibit different (and coupled) rotational spin - which means they could be highly attractive for next-gen Spintronics devices.

In their work, the research team describes how it managed to synthesize GNRs with perfectly zigzagged edges using suitable carbon precursor molecules and a perfected manufacturing process. The zigzags followed a very specific geometry along the longitudinal axis of the ribbons.

Researchers from France's Joseph Fourier University discovered that coating a cobalt film in graphene could double the film's perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), so that it reaches a value 20 times higher than that of traditional metallic cobalt/platinum multilayers.

High-PMA materials are being researched for their applications in next-generation spintronic devices.

Researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) developed a new type of room-temperature tunnel device structure in which the tunnel barrier and transport channel are both made of graphene.

In this new design, hydrogenated graphene acts as a tunnel barrier on another layer of graphene for charge and spin transport. The researchers demonstrated spin-polarized tunnel injection through the hydrogenated graphene, and lateral transport, precession and electrical detection of pure spin current in the graphene channel. The team sasy that the spin polarization values are higher than those found using more common oxide tunnel barriers, and spin transport at room temperature.

The Graphene Flagship announced a €350,000 work package that explores the potential of graphene spintronics for future devices and applications. The GF is searching for a new partner company to support device development and commercialisation of graphene spintronics, by applying it in specific device architectures dedicated to commercially viable applications and determining the required figures of merits.

The project's budget is for the period 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2018, and includes devices which require optimized (long distance) spin transport, spin-based sensors, and new integrated two-dimensional spin valve architectures. The Graphene Flagship expects that at the start of the Horizon 2020 phase (April 2016), spin injection and spin transport in graphene and related materials will have been characterised and the resulting functional properties will have been understood and modeled.

Researchers from the University of California at Riverside developed a way to introduce magnetism in graphene while still preserving electronics properties. This new method is superior to doping as it does not damage graphene's electronic properties.

The research team used yttrium iron garnet grown using laser molecular beam epitaxy. They placed a single layer of graphene on an atom-thick sheet of yttrium iron garnet, and discovered that graphene borrowed the magnetic properties of the material. The researchers state that they managed to avoid interfering with graphene's electrical transport properties by using the electric insulator compound.

Researchers from Spain discovered a way of using lead atoms and graphene to create a powerful magnetic field by the interaction of the electrons' spin with their orbital movement. The scientists believe that this discovery could come in handy for spintronics applications.

The researchers laid a layer of lead on a layer of graphene, grown over an iridium crystal. This way, the lead forms 'islands' below the graphene and the electrons of this 2D material behave as if in the presence of a huge 80-tesla magnetic field, which allows for the selective control of the flow of spins. The scientists also state that under these conditions certain electric states are immune to defects and impurities.

Researchers at the Spanish ICN2 Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience Group discovered that graphene has an unprecendented spin relaxation mechanism for non-magnetic samples. This may hold great promise for spintronics applications such as MRAM memory.

This mechanism is unique to graphene and may enable manipulating spin degree of freedom in future information-processing technologies.